


Pantheons Throne

by FormallyCharles



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood and Gore, Dragons, Elves, Fantasy, High Fantasy, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Original Character(s), Original Universe, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pantheons Throne, Torture, Violence, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-06-19 04:47:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 47,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15502629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FormallyCharles/pseuds/FormallyCharles
Summary: For thousands of years the Pantheon Council has ruled over Ionerth, wielding powerful artifacts containing the power of gods and peace ruled. 20 years ago tragedy struck and a coup was staged. The Council was thrown into chaos, many perished and now few members remain and yet another great war has begun. Vesonia Caninius returns to the capitol after spending years traveling alone in the wilds, in hopes of re-establishing the fallen Pantheon and restoring peace to the planet. Accompanied by Trajan Drusus the two began to collect Pantheon artifacts in an effort to gather enough strength to defeat Nero and Erebus and his army of un-dead who now rule Ionerth.





	1. The Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vesonia flees into the Epiphanes forest in hopes of escaping her pursuers. A fateful meeting happens and things are set in motion.

**Chapter 1: The Meeting**

 

A lone creature stood at the precipice of a cliff, its white fur standing out in contrast with the dark cliff side. Two long grey horns protruded backwards from the base of its long skull, a soft feathering lining them with two dark spots in the center of each horn. The creatures long neck was stretched revealing a thick soft grey mane that abruptly cut off at its jaw, three thick black stripes ran down its neck intersected by a blue curling pattern, with three sharp commas on each end and dots down the side and thick dots inside the swirls. Four long whiskers hanged down from behind its twitching ears, two on each side. The whiskers were a rich gold in color, and the longest on each side wrapped tightly in a soft deep blue fabric. They had broad shoulders, and wore a tight black tunic, with a leather harness across their right shoulder, that slung around their hips supporting two daggers, leather fingerless gloves protecting their hands stood in contrast with the soft paw pads ending in sharp black and pearl colored claws. A rigid tail curled out from under the tunic and tan pants, feather tipped grey tail swinging and a black clawed toe tapped on the rocks. Their green eyes narrowed, highlighted by the black stripes, two on each cheek, and black highlights under their eyes. A black spot rested above each eye, looking as if they had short eyebrows. A thick blue strip of paint covered their muzzle, the marking parting as they stared down the ragged walls and listened to harsh cascade of the waterfall churning down the cliff.

Below them rested a sprawling forest, and a small clearing at the base of the waterfall. Patches of wildflowers spotted the clearing, and in a small nook in the roots of a tree a woman rested, propped up against the tree. It was still early morning; the sun was just beginning to light up the world casting everything in soft shades of gold. The creature shifted glancing at the women at the base of the tree, before letting out a low howl that reverberated through the forest startling the elf awake. Vesonia jumped to her feet, her cropped black hair in disarray as she took in her surroundings. Sharp grey eyes scanned the surrounding forest, before settling on a suspicious shadow emerging from the tree line, her ears twitching at any sounds. The elves attention was soon drawn to the tree line and she spoke in a harsh tone.

  
“Should have known you would have caught up eventually,” she sneered, as a large creature emerged from the tree line. Its muzzle formed into a snarl as it stared at her, the creature stopped at the edge of the trees staring at the young women. The creature was large, 6 feet at its shoulder, standing on four legs ending in dangerously sharp claws. Its long canines sticking out from its lips, its thick jaws obscured by a sharp tangle of dark brown spikes. The spikes ran down its neck in a heavy mane, covering down to its chest and over parts of its shoulders and down the length of its back. The creature was a timber coloring, its underbelly a pale cream and its back a dark brown almost black. A deserian, a notoriously nasty race of Ionerth and one the elf didn't fancy a fight with.

  
Its hulking form obscuring the view of the waterfall, its sharp mane shifting as it spoke, “I’m hurt you would think otherwise, there is quiet a nice bounty on that little head of yours.”  
she scoffed at the comment, eye twitching as a second deserian walked out of the shadows of the trees.

  
“You should feel honored, with the amount of gold he is offering. If I didn’t know any better, I would say Nero almost views you as a threat.” The deserian droned, stepping around its counterpart and began to approach her.

  
“I didn’t realize I was so popular with deserians these days,” she sneered, stepping away to maintain a safe distance from the deserian, the young elf wearily eyed its glinting fangs reaching for her sword.

  
The deserian lunged as soon as her hand gripped the pommel and without a second to spare she drew her sword and blocked the large creature. Its claws came down heavily upon her raised weapon, forcing her back, the metal groaning under the weight of the deserian. The deserians claws racked down the blade in a shrill noise. She parried and pushed off the offending deserian before whipping around to stab at the original timber one that had circled around her, it snarled furiously in response and lunged past the blade and sunk its teeth into the side of her forearm. The fangs sunk in with a sickening slick noise causing her to let out a yell. Taking her sword pommel she smashed it into the deserians eye forcing it to let go with a pained yelp. The timber deserian retreated and began circling the bleeding elf, its injured eye swelling shut. The scent of blood filled the clearing, fueling the aggression of the two predators.

  
Vesonia shifted backwards gingerly holding her injured arm and glanced to her side looking for her assailants companion. She cursed under her breath when she realized it had hid in the tree line again, so she focused her attention on the injured deserian. It paced around her, occasionally snapping its maw at her, she matched its steps and she was slowly pushed closer to the tree line. The elf silently cursed, she needed to keep both predators within sight and in the open, but that was rapidly becoming a futile dream.

  
Suddenly a large blur came from the tree line closest to her and rammed into her knocking her sword out of her hands. A large paw pushed down on her throat, claws beginning to cut in drawing small drops of blood to the surface. Vesonia let out a garbled curse, kicking and clawing at the deserians face and eyes trying to get it to release her. The deserian snarled as the edge of one of her nails scratched its cheek. The wound on her right arm throbbing, blood running down her arm and she tried to pry the paw off her neck.

  
“They never said if you needed to be alive when we turned in the bounty, just to find you and bring you back,” Its rancid breath brushed across her face and she gagged as it spoke, the rotten smell of its last meal decaying between its fangs. The pressure steadily increased on her neck, she desperately clawed at the paw trying to force it off in panic as her vision began to blot out, but the half ton beast would not shift.

  
The timber deserian paced beside its counterpart, observing until a white mass sprinted from the tree line. The blur barreled into the grey deserian pinning Vesonia.

  
The elf dropped to the ground, coughing as air flooded back into her lungs, she glanced up and was surprised to find an white Ismenian defending her. The tall dragon regained its balance as the grey beast skidded to a stop on its side a few feet away, uprooting the plants it came into contact with. It stood tall between her and her pursuers, its black stripped patterning brining sharp contrast with its white fur. Swirling blue ink on its long neck that she, in her oxygen deprived gasps, recognized as a clan marking. However, the poorly educated elf did not recognize what clan it belonged and unease settled in her gut like a cold winter night without a fire.

She clambered into a sitting position against the tree, coughing in small bouts, and grabbed her sword laying in the grass next to her. Once she had a firm grip, the unsteady elf moved to stand leaning heavily against the tree. Her black bangs fell in front of her eyes, she haphazardly brushed the hair away from her right eye, ignoring the left one still covered.

   
“Are you alright? Can you fight?” The strange Ismenian glanced at her, it was holding two long silver curved daggers, poised at the offending deserians. The elf nodded in response to their question and the dragon turned back to the hulking monsters seeming satisfied with the answer. They dropped into a low stance as the grey deserian got back on its feet, shaking off the dirt embedded in its spiked mane and snarled at its new opponent.

   
Vesonia shifted as their long tail invaded her space, she noted the stark large black stripes running down the length of their tail, ending in a mix of soft grey and black feathering as it passed. The Ismenian leapt forward leaving a cloud of dust, lunging at the grey one, managing to quickly bury a dagger at the base of its throat up under its jaw. The deserian let out a startled noise fighting to remove the blade for a moment before the Ismenian pushed the blade in further twisting the blade in a sickening crack and the monster dropped to the ground. Blood pooling out around the dagger as it was removed. The deserian stumbled for a second pawing at the bloodied wound before collapsing onto the grass. They wrinkled their nose in disgust as the smell of blood grew in the clearing. 

   
As the dragon descended upon the second deserian, Vesonia, ignoring her bleeding arm, tightly gripped her sword and followed her rescuer into the fray. The deserian began backing away, snarling at its opponents before she sprinted at it feigning to the right. As the deserian lunged she dropped down and slid underneath it, driving her sword into its chest. Narrowly avoiding getting impaled on the maze of spikes on its neck in the process. The deserian roared in pain as she rolled out from underneath the pained beast before it could grab her with its teeth again. It rose up on its hind legs allowing Vesonia to remove her blade with the force, the feeling of warm blood falling on her face at the movement. She cringed at the feeling.

Its cream fur was matted with blood, yet it still stood attempting to bite the retreating elf. The bloodied elf scrambled away just in time to watch the Ismenian, who had remained relatively immaculate during the fight,  bring both its daggers down onto the back of the deserian piercing through the gaps in its ribs. The monster fell to the ground in a heap of loud rasping noises. She stood up and watched the deserian flounder for breath, she approached the creature slowly and crouched down in front of its face, her grey eyes narrowing.

  
“Dead or alive huh?” she sneered at the beast, its eyes briefly flitted towards her before it let out one long shuttering breath as the pool of blood below steadily grew. She had pierced its heart. She stood up and glanced at the white dragon who was now busy cleaning their daggers in the fur of the deceased grey deserian.

  
The Ismenian looked up, and it gave a small nod in acknowledgment before tucking its now clean daggers in two black sheaths attached to its belt.

  
“Deserians are nasty little… well big little nasty things,” The Ismenian said, their voice was soft and rich without the adrenaline of battle to harden it. They gestured at the bleeding deserian, and its dead counterpart.

“I’m surprised they only sent two, considering you have a council seal with you.” They pointed out, looking at the pendant drawn around her neck. It was a circular opal secured by a thick strap about her neck, and a small shard of obsidian glass resting at the bottom, the colors and patterns changing in the reflection of the obsidian and a pair of glowing eyes stared back the Ismenian.

Vesonia frowned at the comment, becoming defensive as the nervous pit in her stomach grew. The sharp pang of her injured arm and the burning from every brush of her pendant across the cuts in her neck soured her mood even more. She needed to dress her wounds not deal with a pushy stranger. 

  
“I don’t think you have any grounds to be making statements like that, when I have no idea who you are” She bit out at the stranger, hand still tightly gripping her sword. The elf took a step back, the Ismenian was large at least 7 and half feet with horns she wouldn’t be able to take it in a fight right now. The admission of weakness in her mind irritated her, she had survived on her own for over 8 years she shouldn’t need help from anyone.

  
“Calm down, none of that -vaguely gesturing to the sword-, I was sent by the Pantheon to search for seal holders or potential ones. My name is Trajan from Chronos,” The Ismenian spoke calmly to the irate elf, but she could see their claws were on the sheath of their dagger. Mutual distrust was becoming readily apparent, neither party sure of how to approach the situation. The smell of the deserians blood in the field noxious to Trajan's sensitive nose, they steadily ignored the smell if only to deal with the stubborn elf.

  
“Why would the council send an Ismenian, the royal guard of the Pantheon, to track down seal holders, don’t you have some diplomat’s ass to be babysitting right now?” Vesonia sneered, she smirked when their eye twitched.

  
“You know full well that Ismenian dragons have served on the Pantheon Council, not just defend it,” their fangs showed as they spoke, long rows of sharp teeth exposed, “I carry the third seal of Hemera.” The Ismenian raised their gloved left hand but did not remove the article as if to showcase their statement. Their other hand long since abandoned the dagger in favor of worrying the edge of their braid and whisker. She was still suspicious of them, however their gold feathering of their whiskers was indeed an indicator of council lineage. She doubted Trajan was lying.

She looked wearily, watching the dragon move away from the weapons they carried helped ease the tension in her shoulders. The pendant on her neck began to softly glow, and a disembodied voice spoke, the young seal holder sighed as she felt Nyx awaken.

  
“It would seem Coeus and Aion’s hands have been forced” the voice echoed around the clearing, Trajan head shot up at the statement, and stared at the pendant. Two glowing eyes were clearly visible. Vesonia craned her neck down to look at the glowing seal.

  
“You seem to understand what’s going on Nyx, you care to share with us?” She asked, tapping the obsidian glass plate. The reflection it the plate shimmered before a specter emerged, a wyvern overshadowed the short elf, its wings stretching out highlighting the small spots on the underside of its wings, and its spotted neck. Nyx was an elegant sight, her narrow jet-black head and flowing white mane and crest. The wyverns silver eyes and white eye markings in sharp contrast with her dark feathers. Nyx’s tail curled around Vesonia, as her specter form floated above the elf, her four eyes focusing on Trajan. The elf hummed in disinterest, it seemed the goddess didn’t want to expend the energy to fully manifest.

  
“Did something happen?” Nyx asked, and the dragon looked down and sighed running their claws through their mane.

  
“We were attacked by a large group of deserians and one of Erebus’s generals, we couldn’t hold them off-Trajan paused, fiddling with the dagges- so Coeus sent me away and the other younger members away to search for other council members, in hopes that we could avoid slaughter.” Trajan gestured towards the elf, before sitting down by a tree shrugging.

“I haven’t heard anything from Coeus or Aion, since then I’ve been running blind until Hemera caught wind of Nyx," they finished, and they looked down staring at their boots, claws clacking on the ground.

  
“Where does that leave us then?  Am I supposed to join you and magically all our problems will be fixed? We are still being hunted down by Nero and there’s only two of us and goddess knows like thousands of deserians we have to fight, not counting Erebus!” Vesonia asked irate throwing her hands up, until she heard Nyx sigh and glanced up with her good eye twitching.

  
“It’s a start, Trajan can help train you since you lean more towards ignoring me whenever you can,” The goddess pointed out, and the elf made a rude gesture at Nyx, sneering at the goddess. A dull ache resonating in her skull as the adrenaline from the fight wore off.

  
Her hand reached up to her right eye gently rubbing beneath the scarred eye as it throbbed in time with her headache, the cornea clouded over from an old injury. They watched the movement and titled their head to the side, their whiskers disrupted at the movement falling silently to the side.

  
“Are you blind in that eye?” It was an innocent question, nonetheless she flinched. She uncovered her eye and stepped away.

  
“It’s none of your concern,” Vesonia snapped. The goddess of night looked uninterested, floating quietly above the elf.

  
“No, no I didn’t mean- Trajan sighed and stood up and approached her- look are you going to join me or not?” Trajan extended out a clawed hand to her. She glanced wearily at the hand then back to Nyx, who nodded. The young women sighed, she was already thrown to the wolves and might as well accept her fate.

  
“For now, it looks like our needs align. I suppose I don’t have much of a choice,” and with that she grasped the Ismenians hand. Trajan pulled her in and clasped her forearm and brought their shoulder together in agreement. A small smile graced the Ismenians face, Trajan's green eyes lighting up. A new traveling companion, and neither party fully understanding the wheels they had set in motion with the action.

  
“Good because there was another deserian that didn’t appear during the fight that we need to track down.” They pointed towards the dense forest the monster had come from.

“They will more than likely report to Nero that we have joined up, and that means things will get much harder for us.” Trajan mentioned jovially, but she could see the line of tension of their shoulders and nodded in response. The Ismenian did seem genuinely excited, but she attributed that to having a new travel companion. It was strange to see an Ismenian happy, she frowned and tugged her sleeve over her injured arm and turned to follow at the insistence of Nyx. The goddess faded away as she began to move. She sensed Nyx was still alert, scanning their surroundings as they searched.

  
Trajan had already began walking into the forest, Vesonia silently trailed behind. As soon that they hit the tree line the sounds of the waterfall began to become muted and with each step the meadow and its blood-stained grass was forgotten.

   
Trajan let out some tension in a long sigh, their muscles relaxing as the pungent odor of deserian blood gradually dissipated, it was still present but not as over bearing.

  
She absently stared at the back of the Ismenian and paused, unsure if they would be able to hunt down the deserian. She noted the curved tribe tattoo on their neck, and didn’t recognize it, her own tribe tattoo was merely a sharp arrow with a curled bottom.  

  
The forest was oddly silent, most likely due to the presence of Trajan who was silently stalking through the trees. Ismenians were traditionally carnivores, and active hunters. Though they use tools now as opposed to their claws and fangs as they have in the past. Trajan moved quickly through the trees, she found herself jogging to keep up, its long strides equaling two or three of the elves. She huffed slightly in annoyance at that, cursing her short legs.

  
“Do you think it managed to flee the area?” Vesonia asked, finally breaking the odd silence of the forest. Trajan glanced back at her, an ear flicking back before shifting again.

  
“I don’t think so, deserians might be fast but they are not endurance runners, I could probably run it down once we find its scent trail,” they responded, their ears rotating as they listened to the surrounding trees.

   
She nodded, she has no doubt they could easily bear down on the deserian, despite being bipedal Ismenians could go on all fours to hunt prey or during battle. Ismenians even carried specially designed satchels that hug their bodies, so they don’t swing while they run. They wandered for a few hours, going straight through the dense forest that seemed to stretch on forever. The gnarled trees loomed overhead, heavy vines hanging from the branches blocking out the sun. Moss sloughed off trees, the forest floor was covered with dense ferns that Vesonia and Trajan had to wade through, some reaching Vesonias hips.

  
Trajan turned abruptly to the left and began jogging towards something, she focused her senses and heard the faint sound of leaves and foliage being crushed under paws, her ears twitched, and she followed closely behind. They had found the deserian, their tail swung slowly back and forth as they scanned the area, spotting a red mass partially obstructed by the trees trotting at a steady rate.

  
“I think we have our answer, it looks like it ran out of steam” Trajan announced glancing back, a small smirk forming on their snout.

Get ready, I want to grill this one for information.” Trajan warned the elf, who paused for a moment in concern.

They crouched, their clawed hands resting on the ground, the dragons body disappeared from view in the thick ferns, plants parting as they silently moved closer. It continued to trot, seemingly unaware of the approaching opponents. The pair approached slowly, following the deserian for a few clicks. The deserian was a rust red color and had a matching deeper ginger red mane. She noticed Trajan fall back and took the cue to move in on the deserian.

  
She moved to cut off the deserian, quietly jogging to get in front while Trajan moved to flank it. When they got within 40 feet of the deserian the elf moved in, crouching behind a large tree stump and waited. Her vision was obstructed by the roots. She heard the deserian come to a stop and heard sniffing sounds and a low growl. Vesonia felt blood roll down her arm from the bite, and cursed realizing that her bleeding arm had given her position away. The anxious elf waited silently, unsheathing her sword and soon it trotted forward again before turning abruptly to where she was hiding and lunged, she rolled out of the way and in the process dragged her sword across the back of its closest hock. The deserian went down with a loud thud, unable to support its weight on its injured leg, snarling at the attack.

  
As the deserian attempted to get back on its feetTrajan suddenly appeared vaulting over the tree stump out of the ferns they had been hiding in. They landed on the deserian pinning it to the ground with their weight, their daggers digging in under the base of the deserians thick ginger mane. The creature stilled at this, the blades cutting in and drawing blood.

   
Vesonia stared, impressed with the display. Not many individuals knew how to fight deserians effectively, admittedly even her skills in fighting deserians relied heavily on hoping her sword would puncture deep enough to hit something important, riding blindly on luck. Yet Trajan had immobilized the hulking beast with speed and efficiency, it was clear they had received extensive training.  
“Was hoping you could answer some questions yeah?” The dragon stated almost casually to the snarling deserian, the more it writhed the deeper they let the blades sink.

“I think it would be in your best interest to talk," they pressed, their green eyes piercing as it stared down the creature. The beast glanced at him snapping its jaws.

  
“It’s going to take more than a whelp threatening me to get me to speak.” The deserian snarled, its working hind leg kicked out, scratching the underside of Trajan’s tail. They snarled, upper lip pulling back revealing their canines.

  
“You’re going to regret that.”

The blade finally piercing through and carved out a spike from the deserians mane, the creature howled in pain but not responding.

“What do you know about what is happening at the capitol?” Trajan asked, dagger poised to remove another spike.

The deserian writhed in agony as blood pooled in the hole in its neck. The elf cringed, watching the bloodied spike hit the forest floor in a pulpy mess. the whole follicle had been removed from its mane.

  
“I don’t know, we were only told to hunt down the first person we found with the first seal.” The deserian bit out, Trajan hummed seeming unhappy with the answer.

In a sickening noise the dagger dug back in, and two more spikes were cut out. The deserian let out a yell its fangs grinding.

  
“You had to have been in the capitol to hear that decree, what do you know.”

The last statement was punctuated by Trajan leaned down into the deserians face, one their claws coming to force its sensitive nose into the ground while the dagger dug under another spike. The deserian made an odd gurgling noise struggling to lifts its nose out of the dirt.

  
“I don’t know!- It yelled, a frantic tone entering its voice -I swear I don’t know, it was sent out as a bounty!” The deserian bit out, its front legs clawing at the looming Ismenians chest now unable to dislodge them with only 3 working legs.

“Nero was almost frantic when he sent out the notice, anyone who questioned it was killed or imprisoned.” The deserian huffed, pain laced its voice as frantic eyes stared at Trajan.

They leaned back snarling, before driving one of the daggers under its jaw silencing the monster. It convulsed for a few moments before stilling, a small courtesy for a distasteful being they thought.

  
Vesonia stared at the dead deserian, and the glanced at Trajan wincing, “Remind me not to piss you off.”

She waved at the mutilated deserian. They didn’t respond staring hard the deserian for a moment, their nostrils flaring as the scent of blood filled the air once again.

  
“I doubt it had any more useful information, and I wasn’t on planning on letting it leave alive.” The white dragon wiped their daggers in the course fur of the deserian cleaning it before sheathing the blades. The elf stared at the puddle of blood  for a moment before turning away.

  
“What now? That’s one problem fixed.”

Vesonia sat down by a large tree, the encroaching roots tangled up. She noticed small pockets of vaguely luminescent fungus and glanced up. The sun was setting in the distance.

“Have we really been hunting this asshole all day?” Vesonia asked staring up. Her companion glanced at her before nodding.

  
“The deserian got farther than I was expecting, we should probably find somewhere to settle down for the night.” They decided, the Epiphanes forest was not a safe place at night.

“Wouldn’t want to get caught by a Maeonia in the night now do we?” The Ismenian mused, the sun was gradually disappearing behind the horizon and she moved to stand.

  
“I if I could go a lifetime without seeing one that would great.” Vesonia replied, shuddering at the thought of the giant serpentine like creatures that hunted at night.

“They creep me out how they hang out up in the trees and drag their prey up in the canopy,” the elf glanced up, the tall canopy blotting out the last rays of sun peeking through.

  
“If that isn’t the truth,” They snorted, and motioned for her to follow before walking away. Once again she found herself following behind, staring out into the endless trees of Epiphanes forest, it was a fitting name. Every tree they walked past 20 more seemed to materialize once you moved past it, the edge of the forest was nowhere in sight. Within an hour the last rays of light had disappeared, and they were shrouded in darkness.

   
Trajan hastened their pace, the soft sound of their claws ticking on the ground a small comfort to her, it only took one run in with a maeonia for her to weary of the dark trees. The only warning that a maeonia was in an area was often the sound of branches snapping, and that could be anything. The noises had returned as Trajan trudged through the ferns making no effort to conceal themselves. She heard a cricket in the distance chirping along with a few nocturnal lizards running across the forest floor. The only source of light being the luminescent fungus clinging to the leering trees, and the occasional firefly skittering out of sight and in her peripheral. Despite the inherent risk, it was beautiful in its own way. Vesonia idly watched a lizard scuttle on a fallen tree near her, and she stopped.

  
“I think we are far enough from the corpse, we can probably stop and rest for the night.” she called to Trajan, gesturing to the well-lit area, the fungus bathing the forest floor and trees in a soft blue. They looked back and shrugged, settling at the base of the fallen tree.

  
“I guess it works, we will be able to see anything coming, well” They trailed of, she nodded. Ismenians had notoriously good eyesight, the reflective lenses at the back of Trajan’s eyes lighting up when they turned towards her. She shuddered involuntarily under the dragon’s gaze. Trajan turned away quickly.

“Sorry forgot night time eyes freak out some folks,” the dragon apologized, rubbing at the tip of their snout.

  
“It’s alright,” she replied, eyes momentarily forgotten, she had spotted a lizard. She stared down the lizard on the tree, with a singular focus. They looked confused and followed her line of sight spotting the lizard. The elf slowly walked over to the tree before lunging over it and grabbing the lizard.

  
“Ha dinner!” The elf exclaimed, to the horror of her companion. The lizard writhed in her hands, biting her leather gloves. Trajan stared, mouth agape at the scene. she glanced over waving the lizard at him.

“Are you gonna catch one or not?” She gestured to the few other lizards on the surroundings trees.

  
“You eat lizards?” They asked incredulous.

“oh I think I’m going to be sick” The Ismenian waved their hands in their face, claws gently dragging down their muzzle. “Please don’t eat that- they begged- Where is your pack? Don’t you have supplies?”

  
“No? It got lost when the deserians attacked.” Vesonia replied, shrugging and disrupting the lizard in her hands, which had calmed down and now it renewed its struggle for freedom, Vesonia turned away and Trajan’s claws suddenly shot out and grabbed her hood. Vesonia let out a startled noise as she was lifted by hood and she dropped the lizard. Vesonia looked at Trajan glaring.

  
“Put me down.” she demanded, her arms hanging awkwardly, her feet not touching the ground.

  
“No, you little sociopath,” they rebuked, lowering their head to look more clearly at the irate elf, “I still have my pack, we are using that and besides the lizard got away.”

Trajan turned to look at the lizard, which had climbed up the nearest tree to relative safety, its chest heaving in panic. She glared at them, looking ready to kick them. It was technically their fault she lost her pack, since they had all but shooed her away from where her pack was after helping her.

  
“Fine, just put me down my feet belong on the ground only” she rebuked and the Ismenian abruptly dropped her back to the ground. The elf dusted herself off and fixed her collar glaring at the Ismenian. They glared back, reaching behind their back and pulling a pack down.

 

“Collect some firewood,” Trajan vaguely gestured to the surrounding trees and began to dig through the bag, eventually pulling out some dried goods. Vesonia grumbled but began to collect twigs. Vesonia gradually shifted away from the makeshift campsite, with a good handful of twigs and sticks in her arms, when suddenly branches fell from the canopy.

   
Vesonia froze, glancing up to locate the source of the fallen branches. The canopy casting dark shadows, the only lighting from the fungus making the canopy a dark blob. Vesonia heard the trees rustling, as something shifted above her and she tensed. Another large branch fell by her, accompanied with the soft sounds of claws dragging down bark and Vesonia understood with dread, that a Maeonia was above her.

   
Maeonia were an arboreal species, six legged animals with strong tails. They often sported complex spotted patterns that help them blend in with the trees and foliage and had a mouth full of razor sharp curved teeth. The creatures had 2 pairs of abnormally large eyes and nocturnal, using the cover of the dense canopy to ambush prey and drag them into the canopy with their secondary arms.  
Vesonia glanced down at her arm, remembering the injury that could have led it to her. The bleeding had stopped but the dried blood was no doubt a promise of an injured animal. It had sniffed her out. Vesonia glanced around, and spotted Trajan’s outline in the glow from the fungus, sitting on the large trunk chewing on jerky. She aggressively motioned at the Ismenian praying their night vision went far enough to spot her and the incoming hunter.

  
Trajan glanced over confused, after noticing Vesonias frantic motioning, then froze and glanced up. Vesonia silently cursed under her breath as she saw Trajan draw their blade and make a small motion to be silent. Trajan pointed towards the ground and Vesonia motioned back with a large shrug, what did they want? Trajan did it again, with more force and Vesonia stared back confused but leaned down, gently placing the bundle of twigs on the ground and slowly moving towards Trajan who nodded at the movements. More twigs fell next to her, and the dragging noises got closer. Vesonia felt something wet hit her face and she cringed, getting ready to be dragged into the trees.

 

Vesonia jumped her heart thumping harshly against her ribs when a clawed hand grabbed her and she started struggling. Trajan’s face came into view, they were frantically shushing her. The Ismenian pointed up, then motioned to be quiet as more fluid dropped from the trees. Vesonia looked confused and wiped her face and the potent smell of deserian blood hit her. The realization hit her , the Maeonia was carrying the deserian carcass across the tree tops, and the carcass was too heavy for the branches dragging the Maeonia down the tree with it.

  
Vesonia shifted when Trajan’s claws gripped her collar and gently tugged, and they silently made their way back to camp. Vesonia listened carefully to the cracking branches that gradually sounded farther away. Once they got back to camp Vesonia settled herself against a tree, accepting the jerky offered by Trajan as she sat down. The jerky was bland and difficult for her to chew but she was too hungry to care. She looked over at her Ismenian companion, both had decided against a fire as they listened to the distant sound the animal lugging its haul across the treetops. She stared hard for a moment, she still wasn’t sure what to think of the strange Ismenian. They weren’t as anti-social or as aggressive as most of their kind tended to be. Ismenians were a war faring species, renowned for their battle prowess and it didn’t leave much room for gentleness or compassion in their militaristic views. Serving as the primary guard to the Pantheon, and military force they were formidable. It was odd to find a soft spoken one, even though Trajan's combat abilities were on par with Ismenian values of training and education in the art of war.

   
They both remained silent listening to the forest noises return to normal. Within a few minutes Vesonia began to nod off, falling asleep to the sound of a far-off cricket and the occasional soft growl from Trajan as they attempted to settle comfortably. Trajan glanced over at the elf, breathing deeply then staring at Vesonias arm, eyes narrowing at the dried blood covering her hand. The dragon let out a long sigh before closing their eyes and nodded off.

 

The night passed uneventfully, at a far off tree towering over the Epiphanes a Maoenia lounged on a large branch, idly gnawing on a thigh bone.

  
Trajan stirred with the morning chorus of birds, sitting up and glancing at the small song bird perched on the fallen tree. The golden bird watched the Ismenian before taking off at the dragon’s movement. Gentle rays of sunlight filtered through the trees, Trajan looked up taking a deep breath in, enjoying the feeling on the sunlight on their white fur. The Ismenian looked regal, its long neck stretched out basking in the light. After a moment Trajan lowered their head and glanced over at Vesonia, who was still sleeping. The elf had curled herself under the tree with her face wedged in her hood, her hair was in clear disarray and stray strang sticking to the side of her mouth. The dragon snorted at the sight, before reaching for their pack and standing up.

   
Trajan shook out the morning drowsiness with a long stretch and thrash of their tail and heard a startled noise behind them. Trajan turned around in time to see Vesonia scrambling to her feet, her hair mused and eyes wide. Trajan scratched their horn and titled their head to side and asked Vesonia,

  
“Is there a problem?” It was an innocent question, at least to Trajan.

  
“You smacked me in the head!” Vesonia exclaimed, glaring at Trajan her hands flying to her head to fix her hair. A stray twig stuck out of the top of her hair, which Vesonia plucked out with a look of disdain attempting to settle the mess. Vesonia gave up after the third cowlick popped up and glared at Trajan again who just gave her a sheepish smile.

  
“Sorry?” Trajan scratched the back of their head and turned away, “I didn’t realize you were that close.” Trajan’s tail swung to the side at the comment, the long appendage brushing over the ferns by the stump Vesonia stood by. She watched the tail move with an irritated twitch of her left eye. With a languid shrug the dragon moved away, before looking back at Vesonia taking a deep breath.

  
“By the way are you gonna clean up all that blood?” Trajan asked, and stared pointedly at Vesonias arm. Vesonia tugged her sleeve back over the bite wound and shrugged. “You also have blood on your face from last night, we should find a stream or something.” Trajan looked away and hooked their pack to their harness.

  
“That would be nice, I need to rinse this wound soon.” Vesonia glanced at it, raising it to her face and sniffing it, she made a face at the stark stench of blood. “I don’t think it will get infected, but I want to stem that,” Vesonia probed the edge of the wound which was swollen, the bite wound was deep and needed attention. Her arm throbbed at the memory of the bite, and Vesonia reached to rub around the injured area.

  
“I have some herbs in my bag we can mix with some boiled water to disinfect your arm if need be, but we should start moving that Maeonia is most likely still in the area” Trajan turned and started walking, Vesonia following closely behind glancing at the surrounding trees, unsure of where they were going to find a water source. They had traveled a long way from the waterfall and river.  
Vesonia looked up at the trees idly, the pace was more relaxed with the knowledge that one confirmed Maeonia was content with a large haul. Vesonia rolled her eyes at the thought, of course the animal enjoyed her hard work. Deserians were not easy to fight, not with their thick mane of spikes protecting their neck and parts of their chest and back. Unless someone is trained too, it is difficult to pierce their hearts or kill them efficiently, and that Maeonia just made off with all that work. It will be well fed for a few days.

  
“At least we don’t have to worry about at least one maeonia for a bit,” Trajan glanced back at her at the comment before she continued.

“I mean it took the whole damn corpse didn’t it?”  The elf pointed up to emphasize her point, making a big motion with her hands. The white Ismenian nodded.

  
“I guess, and there’s a good chance that is the only one for miles they aren’t exactly pack animals,” Trajan replied scratching their chin.

“Thank god for that, I’ve only fought them a handful of times and it ended with me running for my life” Trajan admitted, “we got lucky it found the dead body before us your arm is a beacon right now that bite wound is large.” 

She watched the Ismenian with a critical eye, feeling Nyx’s conscious brush hers before the god revealed itself with the channel between vessel and god open.  
“Nice for you to finally show up,” Vesonia glared up at the specter looming over her, Nyx looked down at her eyes narrowing her grand black and white crest of feathers rising at the comment.

  
“You always keep the connection shut down,” Nyx replied an edge in her voice Vesonia couldn’t identify, the god loomed over her. “I was trying to intervene when I sensed the Maeonia in the area, but you are never open to the bond.” Vesonia had the vague feeling she was being scolded at Nyx’s words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All Chapter being edited in rounds to ensure they are written correctly. This is my first time posting a major story so any tips would be greatly appreciated!  
> Please feel free to join the discord to get access to new content and artwork: https://discord.gg/rXj43Ap


	2. Deliberation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vesonia and Trajan agree to continue traveling and decide upon a destination, while a new enemy lurks in the shadows.

**Chapter 2: Deliberation**

 

Trajan stared at Vesonia, their eyes narrowing. A closed bond was not only a sign of a poorly trained seal holder, but also concerning as it restricted the amount of power the god could tap into.

“That won’t do at all” A disembodied voice echoed through the forest, Nyx and Vesonias head snapped in the direction it came from, Trajan stared down at their wrist and the glowing bracelet, the center ruby glowing lighting up their gloved wrist and hand. “Nyx I would have thought you would have maintained better control over your charge,” The voice continued, an edge of consternation in the voice.

“Hemera!” Trajan scolded, the Ismenian stared hard at their bracelet before a large dragon emerged. Hemera slowly rose, its forelimbs resting on the ground as it stretched its golden wings out. Hemera was a brilliant soft shade of gold, her scales shining a rich shade even in the shadows of the forest. The goddess of light wore a long thick white mane that stretched underneath her chest, feathers matching her wings lined down her forearms black spots marking the end of the feathers. The god stared at Trajan then turned to Vesonia. Her four eyes narrowing once the elf was in her sights, Hemeras sleek snout moving as she spoke her mane rolling with the movement. The fur looked silky, shining in the light. Vesonia wondered if it was as soft as Nyx’s mane. 

“It’s been a long time Nyx, over 20 years.” Hemera fully materialized, stepping into the grass towards Vesonia who took a step back, but Nyx remained still. Vesonia felt one of Nyx’s legs as she moved back, the goddess acting as a small comfort to the elf, Hemera was double the size of Nyx and dwarfed Vesonia.

“Indeed, I’m surprised you waited this long to show yourself,” Nyx responded, Vesonia glanced up at Nyx surprised to see a soft look on Nyx’s face. Nyx shifted no longer a specter as the goddess’s body emerged fully, with a strong flap of her wings, almost knocking Vesonia over. Nyx settled on the ground balancing herself gently next to Vesonia her long tail curled around the elf. Vesonia wearily watched the feathered black tail curl around her and glanced over at Hemera the golden goddess. Hemeras looked cramped in the dense forest, Hemeras feather tipped tail curled up underneath her body between her hind legs.

“This forest has been a little to cramped for my taste, not enough light.” Hemera replied, with an ear twitch before she leaned down to stare Vesonia in the eyes, “Vesonia, if I am not mistaken, you are the chosen seal holder you should take that as a great honor.” Hemera’s large eyes stared, the green was almost an identical shade to Trajan’s. A strange trait Vesonia had noticed, the eye color of seal holders is always mirrored in their perspective god, maybe due to the nature of how the seals control of the gods physical form.

Vesonia didn’t respond to Hemeras question, staring down the goddess without flinching. If Vesonia could face off against Nero’s general she was not going to be swayed by a weaker god. She noticed Trajan peering around Hemera looking at her, she couldn’t read the Ismenians face well at that moment, but it looked concerned.

“Vesonia has been through a lot the past few years,” Nyx pulled Vesonia in with her tail, she felt Nyx’s long white mane its soft fur falling over her shoulder. “We have been slowly working training into her routine, but she was not ready when the seal was given to her.” Nyx invaded Hemeras space, forcing Hemera to move back. The two gods stared at one another, Vesonia looked between the two concerned. Vesonia looked up and her sight was obscured by the thick mane, Nyx’s face obscured as she leaned over Vesonia her stance defensive.

Vesonia was puzzled, as Nyx’s relaxed posture when Hemera had appeared was gone, replaced by tension, it was almost tangible in the air as the two gods sized each other up. Vesonia felt she was missing something important, as if a silent exchange was occurring between them. Hemera shifted on her forelimbs, claws digging into the ground before Hemera stepped back.

“I see,” Is the only response Hemera gave before receding back into her seal. Nyx relaxed before glancing at Vesonia and receded back into the seal. Vesonia sighed as Nyx disappeared, rubbing her forehead.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen Hemera do that,” Trajan commented, Vesonia look at them confused, “Leave their seal just to scold someone, she usually isn’t very chatty.” Trajan explained staring at the seal on their wrist.

“People have a knack for deciding to meddle in my life it seems,” Vesonia replied, she glanced at Trajan before walking past them and continuing straight. “Come on, I want to find some water soon,” She glanced back at Trajan who trotted to catch up. Trajan nodded, and they continued moving. 

The altercation between Nyx and Hemera was concerning, Trajan frowned as they recalled Hemeras insistent request to speak with Nyx. The goddess pushed and strained against the seal, asking silently for Trajan to allow her to materialize and talk to the other god. Trajan was confused by the reaction, but Hemera has not had any contact with any other gods other than Aion and that surely was enough to drive anyone mad. There was clearly some history between the two goddesses, but Hemera was unwilling to disclose any information and Trajan doubted Nyx would be forthcoming given how Coeus described her disposition- what had he said?- Stubborn and cryptic, lovely Trajan thought just what they needed another evasive god.

Eventually the trees began to thin, and as soon as Vesonia had noticed she started moving fast and soon the soft sound of running water hit her. Vesonia glanced back a Trajan, who nodded, and they turned towards the sound. Vesonia ran ahead and within a few thousand yards a large river marked the end of the forest.

The forest opened into a vast plain that stretched on for miles, the smell of sweet grass and dusty air drifted past the duo as they made their way to the river. Wildflowers sprung up around them coloring the fields vibrant pockets of yellow, red and purple. Small bees slowly buzzed past Vesonia as she kneeled by the waters edge, knocking a small red flower growing on the bank into the water, allowing it to gently float down the river.

Vesonia sighed in relief pulling off her glove and shoved her arm in the water. The cool water was a sweet relief to the dull ache of the bite wound. She heard footsteps behind her and glanced back, Trajan emerged from the tree line with a bundle of twigs and a large log slung over their shoulder. Trajan set the log down and pulled out a flint kit from their bag and began to make a fire. 

Vesonia turned back to the river and began to gently scrub her arm removing the blood from her arm and the wound. She winced as the cool water now stung the wound as the dried blood was removed. The smell of smoke wafted by her, and Trajan walked past with a small pot from their pack, filling it with water and washed a strange red herb off in the clear water.

Vesonia turned back to her arm, deeming it sufficiently clean Vesonia pulled her black cloak off and shirt. Vesonia took a deep breath and dunked her head under the water, the feeling of crisp clean water a small miracle. Running her uninjured hand through her hair she dislodged all the grime that had built up in the past two fights. Vesonia felt the tension finally leave her shoulders as all the grime washed away, she pulled her head out of the water and sighed. Gently scrubbing at her face to remove the blood spatter using her shirt.

“It should be ready soon, come over” Trajan called over to Vesonia, the Ismenian was stirring the herbs in the boiling water.

Vesonia stood up, collecting her shirt and cloak and walked over. Vesonia pulled her grey shirt on and sat down next to Trajan, leaning over to look at the mixture. Her face soured at the site, a bubbling green and red mixture met her, it smelled strong and burned her nose. A pungent odor of disinfectant and tree oils hit her and Vesonia scrunched her nose up sneezing.

“Are you sure this is going to help?” Vesonia pulled away pinching her nose. Trajan glanced over.

“It’s meant for Ismenians, but it should work the same for you,” Trajan saw Vesonia make a face, “it’s a lower dose so don’t panic.” Trajan replied continuing to stir the concoction. Trajan stopped and looked at Vesonia, “Give me your injured arm.” Clawed hands reached out to Vesonia, who reluctantly scooted over and showed Trajan the wound.

Trajan pulled out the spoon, with a big glob of the mixture and pulled Vesonias arm closer to the fire. She winced as the mixture was applied, a sharp burning sensation filled the wound as it began to disinfect the punctures. Trajan rubbed in the mixture causing a small grunt of pain from Vesonia as she felt it seep into the punctures.

“Sorry the bites are deep and this needs to get to it all,” Trajan sounded disquieted by Vesonias pained noises, “Just a little more and then we can bandage it.” With that statement Trajan pulled another large spoonful and applied it to the wound, rubbing it in before moving to their pack. Their grey tipped hands stained a reddish green from the mixture. One odd nail on their middle finger a pearl white compared to the stark black of the rest, stained red. Vesonia stared at her arm, the burning had stopped and the pain from the wound was gently fading. Trajan returned with a small roll of bandages and began to dress the wound.

“You seem to be prepared for everything,” Vesonia noted, watching as the Ismenian bandaged the wound.

“I can stay under the radar, I hide my seal under my gloves and it also helps that people don’t like to mess with Ismenians.” Trajan replied, looking up at the Vesonia and smiling, “I’ve done my fair share of trading Coeus didn’t leave me out to dry with no gold.” Trajan admitted, pulling the bandage tight and tying it off.

“Well that’s good to know because I am broke,” Vesonia responded, wincing as the bandage was tightened, “I’ve been living in the wilds mostly. I don’t think I have talked to anyone in 4 months,” Vesonia explained, looking at her bandaged arm with interest.

“4 months? It’s a wonder you have no manners,” Trajan joked, earning a nasty glare from Vesonia.

Vesonia dropped the glare and glanced down rubbing the fresh bandages on her arm. It was still sore, but it wasn’t actively stinging anymore, a small miracle Vesonia mused.

“I’m gonna ignore that comment,” Vesonia caved, “what do you want to do now?” Vesonia glanced back up at Trajan while asking the question. Trajan cocked their head to side, disrupting their braids which fell to the side, the gold whiskers in stark contrast to Trajan’s grey mane. Trajan scratched under their chin contemplating the question.

“To be honest wander?” Trajan replied, “there’s not so much we can do until Nyx or Hemera notices the energy released from seals.” Trajan explained when Vesonia looked irritated at their comment.

“What do you mean energy? I thought the seals job was to maintain control over the god?” Vesonia asked puzzled, her hand coming up to rest on the obsidian Nyx now resided in.

“Well yes but each god still emanates its own distinct aura, it is usually also a marker for who it is but sometimes the auras can be indistinguishable with weaker seals. In your case, carrying Nyx, she is the goddess of night and the first seal.” Trajan straightened out stopping when they realized Vesonia was not well versed in lore, “tell me do you know the story behind the gods seals? Why they have their ranking system?” Trajan asked, eyes narrowing.

Vesonia frowned at the comment and shook her head, “I was only told that I was heir of Astraeus nothing else,” Vesonia paused considering her next move, “Nyx hasn’t been very helpful with that either she only shows me how to use it, not the history behind it.” The obsidian plate flickered at the comment, as if Nyx was irritated with Vesonia.

“Well let me explain, the seal ranking goes by how long it took to subdue a god. The longer the fight was the higher the ranking the gods receive, the first seal being the strongest and the weakest being the tenth, at least with the main tenets of the council.” Trajan started of with the basics unsure of Vesonias understanding on the lore, “Nyx was the final god to be subdued during the great war and was the most difficult to attain. She killed thousands of soldiers before they were able to weaken her enough to seal her away.” Trajan pointed at the obsidian plate, which had dulled out as the Ismenian continued, “The seals were only able to be used once the god was weak enough to be influenced by its power, the seal works by targeting the energy the gods use to power their abilities. Each god absorbs energy differently, depending on what they are associated with. For Nyx it is the night, and the moon. She thrives in the night and draws energy from the shadows casted by night. By cutting off that access to power they can be sealed because they become dormant,” Trajan paused as Vesonia looked ready to say something.

“But how do you stop the night?” Vesonia asked, “It’s not like you can stop the moon from rising?” Vesonia pushed, Trajan raised a hand and continued.

“However if you reduce the shadows in the night you also can reduce the power she wields. The white opal plate above the obsidian glass that holds Nyx was the cut off point for her power. It draws and reflects light, and it encapsulates the plate. Themis refused to disclose how the seal was enchanted beyond that, but with torches and the aid of Hemera who had already been subdued they cut Nyx off from her full shadow at the end and sealed her, she became careless in her tired state and Hemera subdued her with a powerful blast of light at dawn.” Trajan explained, Vesonia glanced down feeling the plate. It was smooth, even through the connection to the white opal surrounding it.

“That’s kind of dumb, one of the creator gods taken down by a technicality?” Vesonia mused, Trajan snorted at the comment. Nyx remained silent, the seal unmoving.

“I won’t deny that, but without Hemera or the coming dawn Nyx would have won the battle, by the end it wasn’t a fair battle with several sealed gods being forced to fight against her.” Trajan replied easily, Vesonia straightened out.

“So, if the night had persisted Nyx would have won?” Vesonia questioned, and Trajan nodded looking down almost solemn.

“Well with that- the point is the seal still allows for auras to leak out, it can’t contain every aspect of a god. However, only other gods can sense it.” Trajan explained, getting back to the initial topic, “I have no doubt Erebus sensed when Nyx returned with a holder. The gods auras become stronger with a vessel to funnel the power through. That is also why only specific individuals are chosen to carry the seals, because the gods auras can corrupt individuals and the environment around it.” Trajan finished, explaining all of this to the first seal holder was a little disconcerting. It felt like dealing with a child despite Trajan’s knowledge that Vesonia was born a year before them.

“So, we can track down seals by that aura? That’s what your getting at.” Vesonia finished Trajan’s last statement before they got a chance to finish.

“Yes, and to do that we just have to wander and hope for the best maybe follow rumors.” Trajan agreed, “It's been over 20 years and I am positive unattended seals are causing chaos, we know that Nero does not have all the seals, most were lost or stolen during the chaos of the coup.” Trajan pulled off their glove, revealing a stripped arm and Hemeras seal. A large black bracelet contained 3 rubies cut into diamond shapes. The center ruby shined as Trajan held it up for Vesonia to see.

“We should be able to track down the missing seals with two gods searching, granted that’s if Nyx is willing to help.” Vesonia replied, she wasn’t happy it was a blind chase into the unknown. Nyx’s seal shimmered for a moment.

“Despite my grievances I agree that it is the best plan. With just Hemera and I, we cannot defeat Erebus as he is now.” Nyx didn’t emerge, but her ghostly voice echoed around them.

“So, then we have your support?” Hemera questioned, Vesonia jumped as the seal on Trajan’s wrist jumped to life, the glowing green eyes of Hemera visible. The elf fell back at the sight, and the eyes glanced briefly to meet Vesonias gaze before looking back down at Nyx’s seal.

“Yes, I think it is time things have been restored.” Nyx responded, both Trajan and Vesonia looked visibly tense at the disembodied voices. They resounded through the tree line startling animals out of hiding. The group watched as a small deer darted out of the trees disrupting the conversation and disappeared again once it spotted the Ismenian.

“Well now that is settled do you want to get going Vesonia?” Trajan pulled their glove back on, their claws popping through the opening at the end of the glove. Trajan stood up in one motion, and began to kick dirt over the fire, not waiting for a response from Vesonia. She stared up confused at Trajan, unsure if the conversation was over with yet. As the last embers of the fire was covered Trajan looked down at Vesonia before extending a clawed hand. Vesonia, still confused, accepted the handed and was pulled to her feet.

“Where to next?” Vesonia was genuinely unsure of where to go, Ionerth was not small and they currently were on one of the largest main continents, Adica, which spanned thousands of miles.

Originally split between four of the ten pantheon members, Escea was now ruled solely by Nero and Erebus. The continent was huge, sporting a large cold northern portion that suffered constant snow and freezing temperatures, housed the Epiphanes forest which dominated the Southern part of the continent. It also housed the capitol in the once lush prairie, now a barren mountainous wasteland. The capitol, roads and the surrounding environment was demolished during the coup twenty years ago, the clashing gods and pantheon members uprooting the soil and making the land infertile. It was long suspected that the decay of the land was due to Erebus and his growing influence as his legions of monsters and undead beings trudged across the land, in constant patrols of the capitol and the 100 mile radius around it.

“Well just walk north? We are pretty far south, and I honestly don’t know where the Epiphanes spit us out at,” Trajan scratched their chin in thought, looking back the long stretch of trees and then then the plain it stopped at. Trajan thought back to the waterfall and glanced at the river that most likely came from it. “We might be near a town.” Trajan decided, before digging a compass out of their bag. Trajan frowned as they stared at the compass.

“what’s wrong?” Vesonia noticed the expression.

“We went farther south trying to get out of the forest,” Trajan replied looking in the general direction of what Vesonia assumed was north. “We will have to pass through the forest again if we go north,” Trajan supplied, and Vesonia frowned at the thought. “We could also just follow along the edge, we should hit a town further north.” Trajan commented to get Vesonia to agree, with a promise of a chance to get fresh supplies.

“Fine,” Vesonia huffed and snagged the compass from Trajan’s claws and started walking north. The dragon looked confused for a moment, mouth opening and closing in a stutter before cleaning up the camp and catching up the impatient elf.

“Ya know for someone who really doesn’t like Maeonia or the Epiphanes why were you in there?” Trajan called to Vesonia, who had already made considerable ground. The Ismenian growled, how was something that short that fast when she wanted to be? Trajan lost their train of thought when Vesonia looked back, her good eye glaring down the dragon.

“I figured deserians wouldn’t be dumb enough to chase me into the endless forest and that I would be safe for a while, but I was proven wrong. Four idiots followed me in,” Vesonia rebuked as Trajan trotted to her side finally.

“I didn’t know there was a fourth deserian,” Trajan responded innocently, smiling at Vesonia with all their teeth on display, sharp canines shining the light. Vesonia responded with a sneer before looking forward and continued to walk.

Vesonia stared idly at the forest they just came out of, the Epiphanes forest was not only quite large, but also rich with lore. Its other name was the forest of endless souls, garnered from the number of lives it has claimed over time. It was all too easy to get lost in its endless trees, and even if a person wasn’t lost they often were picked off by the large Maeonia population the forest supported. It was rumored that individuals who enter were often led astray by lost souls and dragged down to join those who have joined. Vesonia snorted, the reality of it was that people panicked and started running, resulting in getting more lost or attracting the attention of the tree dwelling predators. It didn’t help the trees were huge, looming over one hundred feet in the air.  It was nearly impossible to gain your bearing unless you had a compass or could spot which direction the sun set and rose at. Admittedly choosing to hide in it wasn’t her brightest moment, but Vesonia had been chased across the continent from the far east.

As the pair walked, the soft sound of shoes and claws respectively hitting the soft ground drew Vesonias attention away from the looming forest. Vesonia glanced back at her new travel companion. The Ismenian still put her on edge, she didn’t know anything about them beyond the fact Trajan was involved with the fallen Pantheon. It didn’t help that Vesonia did not recognize the clan symbol, the aquamarine symbol stared back at her. They were quietly walking next to her, the inked symbol standing out in stark contrast to Trajan’s grey mane, the sharp markings running down its length. Trajan noticed Vesonia staring and glanced over, Vesonia made a face and looked away as Trajan’s white muzzle in her peripheral moved.

“Are you wondering about the clan marking?” Trajan had noticed, Vesonia silently cursed in her head at being caught. Trajan noticed the face she made before continuing “It’s alright, its from Coeus’s clan and it's also why I have the blue stripe over my muzzle.” Trajan explained, and Vesonia looked back over finally realizing the blue stripe that went over Trajan’s snout like a muzzle was actual ink. Vesonia blanched for a moment, she had initially assumed it was simply part of Trajan’s fur pattern.

All Vesonia could muster in response amidst her thoughts was a simple “oh” and Trajan chuckled as they realized where Vesonias new found confusion came from.

“A lot of people get confused by that,” The Ismenian explained, “Since Coeus raised me it only seemed fair I would take on their markings and become part of the Chronos clan.”

“That’s fair, I still bear my father's clan symbol,” Vesonia responded, pulling down the strap holding the seal up to reveal a small sharply curved symbol with two dots on each side. The clan symbol was short and simple, representing the two aspects of Nyx as one of the great life bringers but also as the incarnation of night.  Trajan nodded looking at the symbol idly recognizing it from their lessons with Coeus.

“Two of the clans that dominated the Pantheon huh?” Trajan mused, their hand coming up to rest on their clan symbol, a claw dragging across a tick mark on the top. They continued to walk in silence after the comment and Trajan’s mind wandered to the dragon emblem the council used to proudly wear on their uniforms. A horned dragon head curling into its wing, emblazoned with along the neck and wing, the four symbols of the primary clans that controlled the council.

Vesonia glanced over the white Ismenian for a moment after the comment but dismissed it in favor of starting back into the towering trees. Nothing could be seen over the vast forest, the older trees obscuring a far-off mountain range to the east. The trees managed to loom ominously over the duo, despite the distance between them and the forest itself. Gnarled trees roosts were visible, reaching out from the tree line in a mix of oak and towering pine trees fighting for space and sunlight. Small ferns and bushed could be seen growing at the base of trees. Small groups of vines climbing the trees, their large leaves obscuring the visibility in the forest, everything merging into a indistinct green mass. The longer Vesonia stared at the trees the more a large mass in the trees stood out.  

Vesonia straightened out, watching as the shadow matched them as they moved. The dark mass was down low to the ground, moving slowly as it followed them. Vesonia reached over to Trajan tugging on their sleeve, when the Ismenian glanced over she gestured towards the tree line. Trajan’s head looked up briefly before their ears flicked forward, and their nose flared as they attempted to discern what was following them. The pair continued to walk, as Trajan stared down the stalker in the trees. The creature was large, bigger than Trajan and set Vesonia on edge. Two large pair of horns were visible in the outline of the creature, but it was the only clue Vesonia and Trajan had to the creature’s identity.

“Do you think it’s feral?” Vesonia whispered to the Ismenian, watching as one of their ears twitches towards the ranger at the question before nodding slowly. Vesonia silently groaned, her face pinching.

“It seems Maeonia are not the only hidden dangers in the Epiphanes,” Trajan spoke quietly, their face pulling into a small snarl at the feral dragon lurking in the trees.

Feral dragon did exist but were not common after a mass extermination effort by the Pantheon. “I had assumed the populations had not recovered but it seems 20 years plus of freedom changed that,” the dragon muttered in disgust.

Feral dragons were not related to Ismenians, having branched off hundreds of thousands of years ago and lacked language or the trademark cunning intelligence of other draconic species. Feral dragons not only grew larger than Ismenians but were more vicious and actively hunted even with food present making them incredibly dangerous. Due to this danger, after the Pantheon was established, a world-wide extermination effort was carried out to protect cities. However, places like the Epiphanes could have the potential to hide a population Trajan mused.

Trajan was snapped out of their thoughts when the shadow in the forest shifted and began to move towards them. Out of the corner of their eye they saw Vesonia tense, hand resting on the pommel of her sword Trajan joining and drew their daggers. A moment later the shadow became more defined and the creature emerged from the tree line.

“Is... is that even a dragon?” Vesonia stuttered as they stared at the creature.

The creature resembled a gnarled tree root itself, its horns which had appeared uniform in the trees were curled in and twisted around each other, growing sporadically into knots. It lacked scales in favor of rough skin which sharp scutes running down its back and over its forearms, if the dragon had wings at any point they were ripped off and worn down by time, only small nubs remained, looking more like horny growths. Its tail curled around a smaller tree as it took hesitant steps into the prairie. The creature was a dark brown, while its scutes were dark forest green. Its long claws dug into the soft grass, as it stared down Vesonia and Trajan. Dark viscous drool fell out of its malformed mouth, catching on snaggled teeth.

“If it ever was it certainly isn’t now” Trajan replied staring at its face.

The ferals structure still vaguely resembled a dragon with a long-defined snout, uneven gnarled teeth stuck out its mouth while it drooled without care. Its legs were heavily scared, the bone structure appearing altered as excess spikes protruded from the thick skin, its legs abnormally long and bent a weird angle facing outwards with one joint too many. Its claws were mishapen, one growing right back into the paw pad of its foot as it limped towards them.

Trajan’s eyes narrowed as they noticed the extra pair of eyes resting below its main blazing red eyes, the secondary eyes moved independently staring at Trajan, while the larger pair focused on the elf. The secondary eyes did not look natural, forcing and warping the face of the creature the facial structure distorted. The eyes pushed farther apart by a bulge on its forehead.

“For what reason have you traversed this forest elf, Ismenian” a deep voice rumbled through the plain, Vesonia and Trajan looked at each other in shock as a glob of blood bubbled out and over the fangs of the mangled feral.

“Did it just?” Vesonia asked confused.

“That’s new,” was the only thing Trajan could muster before the voice spoke again and they look back over at the creature.

“The East is my domain and my domain only; no Pantheon god will dispute this.” It continued, while the duo stared in confusion. They were in the west right now, maybe the eastern portion of Adica but they were still in what was widely considered the west. 

“your domain?” Trajan asked incredulously

“No pantheon god?”  Vesonia pondered.

Vesonia felt Nyx brush at her conscious, pushing to speak. She struggled for a moment with the god until the creature at the edge of the tree line roared in a metallic shriek, like striking a hammer poorly on an anvil skidding to the side dragging across the metal. Her concentration broke, and Nyx manifested.

“That is not a feral, not anymore” Nyx announced as her large specter settled over Vesonia in a protective stance, “It has been possessed by a titan,” Nyx explained as another roar came from the creature its maw split wide revealing another row of teeth hidden inside its mouth, its saliva and blood pooling over the lips of its bottom teeth and hitting the ground viscous globs. Vesonia cringed at the sight.

“What do you mean possessed by a titan? Weren’t they sealed away by Erebus once the Pantheon was established” Trajan asked looking at the goddess, the white Ismenians mind raced, no titans should be roaming. The seals were not designed to contain titans, a weaker form of celestial being but that problem had been addressed. Most titans were passive and did not meddle in the affairs of other celestial beings. Trajan felt the Hemera once again straining at her seal, pushing in sharp bursts against the bindings. It felt almost frantic and the Ismenian yielded to the demand.

“It seems Erebus has been busy this past 20 years,” Hemera emerged, placing Trajan behind her bulk. Trajan glanced up at the goddess, having willingly let her manifest fully at the revelation it was a titan.

“This is the truth of corruption that occurs when beings are possessed or attain the power of a celestial being without consent or ability” Nyx explained, Vesonia glanced up and was surprised to see that she was angry, her face contorted with fangs showing. Nyx, in the time that the ranger had known her, rarely angered. The goddess was terrfiyingly passive in almost her actions. The wyvern got frustrated but was never angry, always showing calm collected exterior. Seeing Nyx in a fury, enough to bare her fangs sent a cold chill down Vesonias spine.

Vesonia heads snapped to stare the creature at the comment, taking in its warped appearance.

“So this was a feral but how did it become possessed?” Vesonia was confused, how any of this happened. She tensed as the seal pulsed against her neck, feeling Nyx’s desire to fully manifest. She stared at the corrupted feral, and another roar was enough to force the unwilling elf too yield to Nyx’s demand. Once fully manifested above her, strong wings spread as she forced Vesonia back. Both gods acting as buffers for their vessels.

“This is not an opponent you can handle on your own,” Hemera looked back at Trajan, a strange gleam in her eyes. They nodded taking a step back and grabbing a hold of the elves arm and dragging her back.

“What are you-” Vesonia swatted at Trajan irritated who continued to pull her backwards. “Why are you pulling me back,” she demanded and Nyx glanced back glaring at her.

“Trajan I will leave it to you to explain this to her, but we need to handle this,” Nyx’s request sounded more like a demand than anything else, but Trajan nodded unable to argue with the titan screeching across the field as it approached.

“It was common practice for Pantheon members to allow the gods free to handle their duties while the seal holder fought mortal beings, we are not immortal nor are we omnipotent like the celestial beings and a titan is a formidable opponent Vesonia, we can’t fight it.” Trajan hoped they had explained enough that Nyx won’t intervene and the volatile elf would stop arguing. The elf went quiet and stared hard at them, Trajan continued to pull Vesonia along until they were at a safe distance and looked back.

Hemera and Nyx looked like they were in a deadlock with the creature, staring it down deciding how to handle it. The titan shifted as it sized up its to opponents and made the decision for them, snarling at the two gods and charging forward. Hemera roared in response, the noise echoing through the trees and startling birds and animals out of their roosts. Nyx lifted off the ground hovering above the ground, while Hemera charged the beast meeting it halfway ramming her antlers into the titan, briefly lifting the being, the two front prongs puncturing its thick hide. Hemera shook the titan from her horns sending it flying and landing a few feet from her sliding to a stop leaving streaks of blood in its wake.

“Titan speak your name,” Nyx commanded, and Trajan cocked their head to the side at the command and the fallen titan roared angrily while struggling to stand.

“Fool no mere goddess can command me, I am here under a decree from Erebus, I am the titan of the East Hyperion, here to free celestial beings from their bindings” The creature roared, and Trajan sighed all that gusto just to acknowledge the gods request, the dragon internally groaned. Celestial beings pride knew no bounds it seemed.

“Hyperion of the four cardinal directions then, Hemera” Nyx glanced over to the sun goddess who nodded in acknowledgement. Nyx vanished into her seal, before Hemera roared once again.

The gold dragons eyes lit up in a blinding white light before she spread her wings curling up towards the sky, the underside of her wings a becoming a brilliant blinding light that traveled up to her horns and formed a blinding display. The titan still getting to its feet was immediately blinded by the display the light beating down on it. Hemera lift her head as more particles collected in her horns, mouth agape her neck beginning to glow as more and more light collected until it was leaking out in wisps around her horns. A blinding substance began to leak from Hemeras mouth, burning the ground it touched, the grass lighting up in flames around her. The goddess was truly a terrifying sight in that moment looming over the injured titan.

“You should not have been freed,” Hemera stated as her neck glowed and swelled, before unleashing a torrent of the odd substance directly onto the titan. Hyperion’s host let out an unholy shriek once it made contact, its body beginning to burn and melt away due to the intense heat as its body rapidly deteriorated. The titan, Hyperion, unable to maintain control over the melted body relinquished control, unveiling itself into a pool of shadow that struggled to maintain its shape in the rapidly deteriorating corpse.

As Hemeras body began to dim Nyx reemerged, and moved to stand before the titan. The black dragon landed at the foot of the puddle over shadowing it. Hyperion attempted to reshape into an elf, raising an inky black arm to defend from the goddess when Nyx lowered her head and bit into the unstable form. The goo fell back into an unstable shape writhing under dark gaze.

“As I thought it was an incomplete summons incapable of existing without a host, your real body still resides within the underworld.” Nyx stared down at the form, disgust clear in her tone. The harsh shadow cast by the goddess began to rotated, rising off the ground momentarily in short bursts before rising. Nyx’s eyes lit up as she spread her shadow over the creature, encapsulating the pulsating mass that writhed and attempted to escape the shadow, as it curled more tightly around the writhing mass. To no avail the titan was dragged back into Nyx’s shadow where it vanished completely as the shadow retreated into her long tail. The stench of burning flesh began to drift through the plane and Nyx snorted in disgust before vanishing back into the seal, the obsidian plate shimmering before settling into its inky blackness.

Vesonia stared in awe at the sight, confused as to what Nyx had just done. The carcass of the burned feral remained, but the titan had vanished. Hemera looked back at the stunned elf and Ismenian.

“Celestial beings may be immortal in a sense; however stronger beings can absorb weaker ones. It was impossible for Nyx to send Hyperion back to its prison in the underworld, only Erebus carries that ability so the easiest way to handle this was destroy its physical body and force it out and let Nyx absorb it.” Hemera explained to the flummoxed Elf. Vesonia nodded while Trajan scratched their chin before replying.

“So, the titan still exists but within Nyx?” Trajan inquired.

“In a sense, it exists as energy absorbed. Consuming a weaker god does not mean you attain their abilities just their energy, and the duties that god carried out go neglected so it is heavily discouraged.” Hemera supplied, “A weaker celestial being such as a titan have no real duties, so it wasn’t a major loss, especially since this was a cardinal direction and was already banished for assaulting a god.” Hemera looked disinterred, her nose twitching as the stench from the burned corpse began to annoy her. The goddess retreated into her seal, and Vesonia and Trajan moved away from the grizzly scene.

The ranger stared back the sight, she had sensed it would have been a grueling battle if the gods hadn’t intervened. Even Hemera was only able to pierce its hide with the sheer force of her colliding with the creature and that didn't seem enough to keep it down.

“What was that substance Hemera created?” Vesonia turned back to Trajan who glanced over. The Ismenian stopped for a moment considering the question.

“I would say it's best to describe it as pure energy? Hemera collects her power from light itself, she can manifest and create light without the sun, and some mythology claims she created the sun to warm Ionerth but that was never verified. When Hemera is fighting she concentrates the generated light into a very pure form, and it is very bright and hot, hot enough to melt armor and bone,” Trajan paused for a moment reaching up and stroking their whisker, “She launches or rather breathes it like fire at opponents and it is very potent as you just saw.” Trajan explained while continuing to stroke their whisker.

“Can all gods do something similar or is that just related to her element of dispersing night and bringing light to the day?” Vesonia asked confused, does that mean Nyx had a similar attack?

“Most gods have a special element, but not many can do that with theirs. Take Nyx for example, she is night incarnate and she often disperses a black mist that leeches light and blinds enemies so that either her shadow can absorb them, or she can rip them apart.” Trajan pointed towards seal around Vesonias neck, “Nyx is a dangerous opponent because of that, but she has no direct attacks from it, just methods to incapacitate her opponent and take advantage of the confusion. Nyx’s shadow can spread far away from her and bog down opponents, Hemera can dispel her shadow and mist but cannot eradicate all of it. It is the only reason Hemera was the direct counter to Nyx during the great war, without Hemera disrupting Nyx’s shadow even the dawn couldn’t have saved those soldiers.” Trajan finished when they noticed Vesonias face pinching up at the thought of who she was carrying. 

Nyx hadn’t been attained her ranking for no reason it was naïve to think otherwise, Trajan thought as they watched the elf mull over the information.

Trajan’s eyes flickered down to the seal, which was oddly quiet usually Nyx could be seen swirling and peer out since Vesonia had all but shut her out. That needed to be addressed but not today, not after what she had just witnessed. Hemera brushed against Trajan’s conscious, the Ismenian smirked, she was concerned about that as well.

Trajan pulled their compass out of their side pocket and checked their direction before continuing to follow the tree line.

“I’m not sure if we can reach the town before dark but we can only try our best right?” Trajan mentioned to Vesonia who sighed and nodded in response. It was well past midday, and the sun was touching the far-off mountain ridge to the west, slowly descending behind the range.

“At least we won’t have to camp in the Epiphanes again,” Vesonia responded after a moment, thinking back to their encounter with the Maeonia. Trajan glanced over giving a small smile and nod.

“That’s true, the question is do we want to continue traveling during the night or stop and rest?” Trajan stopped, tugging on their braid before looking back at her, “We should probably change your bandages and see if the herbs did their job.”

Vesonia stopped and glanced down at her bandaged arm, the herbs staining the fabric a murky red. Her wound hadn’t hurt since the mixture was applied.

“It hasn’t been hurting so I am assuming it did its job,” Vesonia replied gently running a hand over the wound finding it blissfully numb.

“We should continue until we hit the river again, then we can dress the wounds and decide it we want to stop,” Trajan decided, before continuing to walk while she trailing behind, fiddling with the edge of the bandage.

The bite was not a serious concern anymore, but Vesonia was still irritated it had happened, a bout of carelessness on her part allowed for the deserian to injure her. 

The pair continued to travel for another hour the sun began to fall below the mountains and dark shadows were cast over the pair as the traveled. Soon the soft sound of the river reached Trajan’s ears, their ears flickering at the sound. Good, they thought, it meant they were traveling towards the village to the north. It rested directly next to the river, a promise of a soft bed and warm food. Vesonia glanced over at the Ismenian at the movement. Soon they came across the same river and Trajan glanced around looking for wood, soon finding a small log at the edge of the tree line and carried it over to where the ranger had decided to sit down.

Soon the fire was set and going strong and as that last vestiges of the sun disappeared Vesonia unwound the bandages around her arm. As the last of the bandages fell away Vesonia stared at the paste on her arm, it had dried and formed a thick coating over the wound. The elf stood up, only stopping when Trajan handed her the small pot to fill with water. She knelt next to the river, dunking her arm into the cool water and began to scrub away the mixture. She was mildly surprised to see the bites had began to scab over the wounds covered and slowly healing. She snorted, of course Ismenian medicine was effective. It made sense since Ismenians were well known for being involved in conflict and sustaining injuries that needed to be healed quickly, though she was still not sure what the mixture was she knew better than to question the quicker healing rate. For all she knew it could have been influence from Nyx aiding the wound. The elf thought back to her blind eye and the injuries recovery time was long, mostly because she had to acclimate to having vision in only eye. The actual injury only took a week to fully heal, but her arm with deep punctures was already partially sealed even though it had only been a few hours since the wound was treated.

Vesonia shook her head and continued to wash her arm before filling the pot and returning the fire, handing the pot of water to the waiting hands reached out. Trajan hummed as they were handed the pot, the hum sounding like more like a soft purr she thought. The Ismenian began to boil the water. Vesonia picked up the bandages and headed back over to the river to wash the blood and paste out. The odd rust color of the bandages bled out into the river slowly returning to its dusty color.

“I don’t think we need to re-apply the mixture, just bandage your arm” Trajan mentioned as Vesonia returned with clean bandages that were abruptly dumped in the boiling pot to sanitize them. She sat down and stared as the bandages rolled in the water, a pleasant heat coming from the fire as the evening chill began to settle in.

They sat in silence enjoying the heat from the fire, despite being in the open Vesonia felt more at ease knowing it would be easier to spot something coming, though they could spot her and Trajan just as quickly as well. The forest ended abruptly in a large plain that stretched out for miles, only occasional shrubs obstructed the large fields of dirt and grass. The edge of the forest contained small ferns and small patches of grass offering a comfortable resting spot, a wall of stones built around the fire to keep it from spreading. The ranger stared idly as small embers flickered onto the rocks, burning out as they waited for the bandages to be safe.

Trajan was leaned back resting on their forearms, not bothered by the night chill with their thick coat. The white Ismenian stared at the sky, watching the stars light up the sky. The sound of boiling water filtering through the quiet field obscuring the chorus of crickets and cicadas in the background. Trajan sat up staring into the pot before using a claw to fish out the bandage from the water. Trajan draped it over the rocks around the edge of the fire, far enough so that they wouldn’t catch if a stray ember hit them and settled back to star gazing.

Vesonia watched idly, plucking small strands of grass, it was peaceful, oddly so since the last few days had been a whirlwind of events. Vesonia and Trajan both were concerned as the revelation a titan was roaming freely, even more that it elicited such a violent reaction from the goddesses. She shuddered thinking about the warped monster, the effects of corruption on the feral dragon stunned her, she hadn’t had much time to think about the implications of what had happened to the dragon during the altercation. The dragon had hardly been recognizable with its warped face and twisted body. Vesonia did not understand why the dragon, despite being possessed by Hyperion, titan of the east took on aspects of the forest is dwelled in, maybe it was the energy the forest itself emanated. She sighed, whatever caused it to look like a living tree was odd, even the scales had given way for rough patterned skins and the scutes were unexpected. Dragons did not generally present with them, favoring thick scales and feathering to defend from attacks, maybe the scutes were an attempt to make up for the lack of scales to protect the titans host, not that it mattered when Hemera attacked it. Vesonia snorted, such a powerful creature decimated in seconds by a god and then devoured by another, she felt goosebumps rise as she remembered the scene. It was oddly mesmerizing watching Nyx and Hemera work in tandem, she assumed it was natural as they worked so well together to allow for they day and night cycles to continue unimpeded during their free reign.

Hemeras ability was terrifying, and it bothered the ranger to know that Nyx was more powerful. Just what exactly were the gods capable off? These celestial beings were something far from being understood, even by their own kind.

Vesonia was snapped out of her thoughts as Trajan gently tugged her arm over to wrap the bandages around the wound. The elf allowed it watching as the Ismenian wound the bandage methodically. Once she was free to move her arm the question arose of whether they were to keep moving,

“I think stopping for the night would be smart,” Trajan said with a long stretch, several pops were heard as they worked out kinks in their neck. “I am pretty beat,” Trajan reclined laying in the grass, head tilted to the side, so their horns rested evenly on the ground.

Vesonia watched the movement, idly scratching her arm.

“It’s not like we are in a rush the seals aren’t going anywhere,” She replied, settling down and pulling her hood up over her head and wrapping her cloak, normally tucked in with her belt, around her body.

Vesonia settled down in the grass staring at the stars, hundreds of constellations danced in the sky. The odd flicker of a small shooting star streaking across the sky. The dual moons staring back at her, like two glowing eyes watching as the residents of Ionerth slept. Vesonia listened idly to the soft humming coming from Trajan, and the crickets soft chirping, intermittent with a cicada calling from the trees. Trajan hummed a slow tune, one that Vesonia did not recognize but the Ismenian didn’t seem to notice their audience nor care. Vesonia still didn’t fully trust the strange dragon, nor did she understand why they were so at ease with someone they just met not even two days ago. Trajan was too trusting she decided, as she noticed they had removed their daggers, the two blades resting in their sheaths by the fire.

Trajan continued humming, the sound soft and low. A small breeze drifted through the plain, and Vesonia curled closer to the heat of the fire, deciding that for the moment she should rest and fell asleep to the gentle humming, and chorus of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is currently being written. Please feel free to leave any comments or feedback about the story so far in the comments, I am always looking to improve. Again thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!  
> Please feel free to join the discord to get access to new content and artwork: https://discord.gg/rXj43Ap


	3. Chapter 3: The Town, The Old Man, and The Maeonia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vesonia and Trajan come across an isolated town, and forced to stay overnight for supplies. However a new opportunity presents itself the pair in the form of a bounty.

Sunlight began to filter over the trees as it rose over the horizon casting the prairie in soft shades of gold. The dual moons long since gone as the morning dew settled onto the grass surrounding Vesonia. A deer grazed on the fresh grass shoots a few hundred yards from her, seemingly unaware of its two companions.

  
A small breeze rustled the trees disrupting her sleep, the elf grumbled curling deeper into her cloak to escape the morning chill. Blearily she cracked one eye open looking at the trees, her good eye flitting over to the grazing deer. She stared at the small animal, clearly a young buck less than two years old. Its antlers just beginning to grow in, as it prepared to participate in the falls yearly rutting. The deer had a soft dappled coat and stood out in contrast the grassy plain is grazed from.

  
Deer were a common site in the wilds, she had hunted many during her travels in the wilderness. She idly wondered if she had the time to hunt it down today, or if Trajan would force them to continue moving towards the promised town further north. The deer’s ears rotated and suddenly its head shot up, alert to some unknown noise. The deer looked back and forth unaware she was watching it, she looked over past the fire towards where Trajan was resting and noticed the Ismenian was watching the deer with interest. She had her answer, the deer has noticed it was being watched.

  
The animal froze, staring down the large dragon with unease. Trajan dwarfed the deer, even partially sitting up their head was above the animals shoulders. Vesonia let out a small sigh. It would be gone in a few seconds, and the chances of hunting it with it. However, the deer didn’t move it just continued to stare, the predator remained motionless and the deer eventually returned to grazing deeming them benign. She was confused, why didn’t the deer run once it had noticed it was sharing the space with a predator?

  
The deer shifted facing away from the duo, and Vesonia silently moved onto her knees, crouching. She reached to grab her bow, but silently cursed when she remembered it was broken during the fight when the Deserian had stepped on it. She had forgotten about it in the ensuing chaos of the past few days. The elf looked over at Trajan to find they had shifted and were quietly moving towards the animal. A small smile graced her face as she realized they both thought the same thing. She watched the hunt with interest.

  
As Trajan got within 20 feet they suddenly took off sprinting at the deer, moving quickly. The animal darted forward making it 30 feet before the Ismenian managed to snag a hind leg. It was over quickly as Trajan pulled out their dagger and finished off the animal. They paused once the animal stilled, stopping to clasp their claws together in silent thanks to the animal for providing its life. Vesonia finally sat up, watching the whole scene idly, it wasn’t the first time she had witnessed an Ismenian hunting.

  
She had been raised by her grandmother far away in the north in a small Ismenian tribe loyal to the council. She had participated in several hunts on much larger game of hulking beasts in the far north east. Vesonia was snapped out of her thoughts when Trajan stood up slinging the deer over their shoulder and moved towards the river and began to clean the deer. She walked over to assist Trajan, for a while the two simply prepared the meat.

  
“I think we should try and barter the hide when we get into town.” Trajan commented, lifting the clean hide to examine it for any tears from the skinning process. Vesonia nodded, as she laid strips of meat on the rocks next to the new fire they had made.

  
“Maybe I could replace my lost supplies and bow,” She responded to Trajan who glanced up.

  
“You had a bow?”

  
“Yes, but it got destroyed during the fight when I was pinned against the tree,” She glanced over at them for a moment with a sour look on her face at the memory. Trajan hummed.

  
“Well that’s a bit of a pain in the arse,” Trajan began to fold the hide and gently tied it to their pack. Vesonia moved back to watching the fire waiting for the meat to finish cooking so they could move, as the Ismenian finished prepping the parts they needed off the body.

  
The morning sun continued to rise, the morning chill chased away by the sun and she sat back for a moment taking in the sunlight. Trajan began to pack up their bag and collected everything they needed from the camp. The elf glanced over when the loud clanking of Trajan’s now full pack, was slung over their shoulder.

  
“How far is the town from here?” Vesonia stood up, dusting off her pants.

  
“I’m not sure, never been,” she made a face at the comment glaring at the Ismenian, “well I saw it on a map okay?” they continued amused at her annoyance, giving the grumpy elf a toothy smile.  
Trajan scratched behind their ear thinking, hopefully the town wasn’t far. A bed to rest in for the night would be nice. They glanced over at Vesonia who did not look or seem nearly as sleep deprived as they felt. The elf was perky despite sleeping on the ground while they had the worst kink in their neck from sleeping on their back and having to deal with inflexible horns. She glanced at them after she noticed the stare, before turning to follow the river that presumably would lead them to the town.

  
The pair walked for an hour or so, before spotting speck on the hill ahead. Soon a building came into view, resting across a small stone bridge crossing the river. As they approached it turned out it was a small cottage, a watermill running in the river grinding wheat. It was silent, the only noise permeating the air was the groaning of the wood in the watermill and the odd river frog. The blue cottage was surrounded by a small uneven wooden fence, that had been crudely constructed together out of fallen tree limbs and tied together with the long grass that grew in the area.  
Trajan approached slowly, noting a small dirt road lined with river stones. The road winded up a small hill but they had yet to see anyone near the mill. They walked up to the fence, claws tapping the gate before pushing it open. A low creaking noise echoed around the garden.Vesonia stood behind the Ismenian watching concerned as they approached the door.

  
“What are you doing?” They ignored her and knocked on the wood.

  
“We need directions,” Trajan replied without even turning around ears twitching to discern any noises. Their head twitching as someone inside knocked something over and started cursing in Ismenian in a series of short snarls and garbled curses.

  
A face appeared in the window. It was an older grey Ismenian, black dual prongs branched off from the base of its horns with black whiskers. Their eyes narrowing at the duo before they grumbled and opened the door. They stood their hunched over, hand resting against their back, soothing an invisible ache.

  
“Can I help you?” Their voice was gravely from years of smoking, their grey face riddled with wrinkles and dulling black stripes, the fur partially hanging over their eyes obstructing their sight. A soft speckled white pattern went down their neck, with a distinct absence of a clan symbol that was long lost to time. Their whiskers pulled up into a braid wound around its head out of the way. It looked odd, seeing them not hanging freely but it was common for them to be pulled out of the way while working land and other tasks that could result in them being tangled. The Ismenian stared hard at the weapons on their backs, assessing the pair.

  
“We heard there is a town up ahead could you give us some directions?”

  
“Just follow the road up over the hill it’s about a mile after that,” The Ismenian replied to Trajan before glancing over at Vesonia frowning. Their golden eyes zeroing in on the seal around her neck, the older Ismenian made a noise as if in thought before turning back to Trajan.

  
“Thanks, we appreciate it we’ve been traveling for a few days,” Trajan explained, stepping slightly in front of Vesonia who huffed and stood back.

  
She silently apologized to Nyx before removing the pendant and tucking it into the pocket on the inside of her coat. She stepped back into the line of site of the older Ismenian who ignored her returning their attention to Trajan, appraising the young Ismenian for a moment before seemingly coming to a decision.

  
“Please feel free to rest here for a bit. I just made a pot of tea,” The grey Ismenian stepped to the side inviting the two in. Vesonia glanced up at Trajan who shrugged, and they walked in. She was disgruntled at the sudden change of heart from the older Ismenian.

  
The cottage was sparse, herbs hung from the walls a small table with four chairs pushed in the wall. A rocking chair still swaying against the window next to the fire place. A small fire was going, with a kettle hanging above it. A large closet nestled next to a worn down wooden door in the back of the room.

  
Trajan settled down at the table, stretching out their long legs grateful to have a real chair to rest in. She set her sword down against the wall nearest the door and pulled herself into the offered chair, making a noise when she realized her feet did not touch the ground. Ismenian furniture was typically much larger than what elves needed, mostly due to their size she remembered. The older Ismenian noticed her disgruntled expression and chuckled.

  
“Sorry about the furniture we don’t get many others beyond Ismenians passing through, since it’s so close to the Epiphanes and all usually scares folks off, it’s not worth keeping things that don’t fit ya know?” They stared out the window to the tree line at the comment before glancing back once Vesonia was relatively settled.

  
“It’s fine, thank you for letting us in,” she replied surprising Trajan. They looked over at the suddenly polite elf, their ears pinned back briefly for a minute before deciding not to argue about the sudden behavior change. Two days worth of heckling left the young Ismenian feeling a bit jaded.

  
The older Ismenian nodded before moving to remove the tea kettle from the fire and placing it on a thick cloth on the table. They moved to a cupboard along the wall, pulling down three stone mugs hanging from hooks under the cupboard. The Ismenian walked to the table, setting down the mugs.

  
“What brings you out here?” An eyebrow raised, briefly glancing at their house guests before pouring tea in each mug and handing them to the travelers.

  
“We are just wanderers,” Vesonia replied quickly before Trajan could speak, “looking for interesting things to collect.”

  
“hmmm, odd place to be looking,” They replied gently lifting their mug and taking a long sip.

 

Vesonia hummed, looking down at the warm mug in her hands watching the steam rise. The Ismenian watched her for a moment, before setting their mug down and turning to Trajan.

  
“It has been a long time since I have met anyone from the Chronos clan, or Canisius for that matter, 20 years I think, my name is Aeson.” The Ismenian extended their arm in greeting which Trajan clasped briefly.

  
“Trajan and this is my traveling companion Vesonia.”

  
Aeson nodded seemingly content with the reply watching the younger Ismenian sip their tea.

  
“My father is a member of the clan it’s only natural,” Trajan explained as briefly as they could manage. Aesons interest in the first seal or their clan was not welcoming. It didn’t help the elf had to wear it around her neck, they had a feeling Nyx didn’t appreciate being tucked away in a coat pocket of all things. Not a dignifying spot for a creator god.

  
A silence had settled over the trio, as the pair enjoyed the chance at reprieve given to them before the long walk to the town.

  
“We were hoping to trade some hide in town, how is the market?”

  
“It’s decent, I don’t know how much you will get for deer hide when we trade maeonia hides here but you can always try,” The older imsenian replied. Vesonia looked up startled.

  
“You hunt maeonia?” She asked.

  
“Not usually, they have been wandering into town more often and are killed.”

  
“That’s odd, they don’t typically come down from the canopy,” Aeson nodded in response and looked out the window.

  
“In the past few years something has been disrupting the forest, it is already dangerous but recently, in the past month, experienced trackers have been disappearing.”

  
The two perked up at the comment, thinking back to the titan. It would make sense it had been preying on the towns bordering the forest.

  
“We encountered some feral dragons in the forest while passing through, they may be upsetting the maeonia population and displacing them,” Trajan mentioned in hopes of getting more information if any about the titan they found.

  
“A feral?” Aeson sat straighter, reaching for the pot to pour more tea for themselves.

  
“Yes, it attacked us from the tree line yesterday, not sure if there are more in the Epiphanes though,” A grey ear twitched as the aging Ismenian listened to them curiously, humming in response. She looked over at Trajan, wondering why the Ismenian had brought up their fight with Hyperion. They clearly didn’t want to advertise they were technically working for the Pantheon, a crime punishable by execution.

  
Aeson watched the travelers while sipping their tea, eyes narrowing as they discerned why a young elf and Ismenian were traveling alone. Ismenians were known for wandering, but elves typically did not travel unless necessary. Too many things able to kill them, and now with no guarantees of protection from the Pantheon or Nero’s army it was further discouraged.

  
“There have been more convoys moving through, lots of Deserians have been around since the increase of maeonia sightings but they haven’t been much help hunting, mostly cannon fodder actually,” The old Ismenian leaned back in their chair stretching their aching back. The wood groaned under the pressure looking over at Vesonia. “Now what motivated you to go into the Epiphanes? Riches? Tales of lost treasures? Did someone chase you in?” It was a very direct question at the end and the elf squirmed under the piercing gaze of the predator.

  
She nervously kicked her dangling feet for a moment before resting them on the bar, debating her answer and she stared back at the older Ismenian.

  
“We are travelers and we heard the rumors about the forest and wanted to see if they were true,” Trajan intervened, giving a half assed explanation hoping the nosey elder would buy it.

  
“Dumb thing to do,” was the only response the pair received. Vesonia gave a sheepish smile at the reply, nodding.

  
“It certainly was an adventure to remember.”

  
“I would hope so, many people who are not familiar with the forest often get lost and never exit.”

  
“So, what can you tell us about the town?” Trajan asked hoping to derail the conversation, not feeling like being interrogated by a nosey elder. They got enough of that having been raised by Coeus.  
“It is a small town, the forest and Savafair river provide us with protection and goods, we don’t often get many visitors,” They explained looking bored at the question, “We do have an inn if you are looking to stay for a few days but I would advise not staying for too long. Convoys through Phares have been frequent and they are a nosey bunch,”

  
“Phares?”

  
“Phares is the town, that rests right of the Savafair,” Aeson clarified.

  
“Ah, it was not labeled on the map it just showed a town without a name,” Trajan nodded, intrigued by the lack of labeling on the map. It had been made after the fall of Pantheon, something had to have happened here for the dictator to feel the need to hide the existence of the town.

  
“We are small and not well known, it is a dangerous area I doubt many cartographers were willing to come through,” Aeson was beginning to look irritated by the questioning, having noticed Trajan's curiosity. They stood up startling Vesonia who had began to zone out while staring at her mug. Trajan knew a dismissal when they saw one.

  
“Thank you for your hospitality, we will be sure to remember this,” They said gently prodding their elf companion into standing, who reluctantly stood up and retrieved her sword.

  
“The inn is called the Maeonia Perch, its close to the town center, the convoys having been staying in a camp close to town but be wary they hang around the tavern in the inn,” The grey Ismenian advised as they walked out the door and into the afternoon air. They had spent at least an hour talking.

  
Vesonia waved at the older Ismenian after she closed the gate. They began to follow the small road over the hill. Aeson watched the pair disappear over the hillside, before lounging in their rocking chair.

  
“They watched us leave,” Vesonia noted glancing back at the cottage as the pair crested the hill.

  
“Elders can be paranoid, I wouldn’t think too much of it we were lucky that Aeson simply let us have tea and rest for a bit,” Trajan replied thinking back to their parent Coeus.

  
They didn’t appear as old as Aeson despite being well past 180. However, they were still strict and wanted to understand every situation they come across, including random travelers stumbling upon their home. She sighed in agreement that they had gotten off lightly approaching a stranger’s home like that. Unwanted travelers to her hometown were often captured, chased off, or killed.

  
“We should be at the town in about an hour, we need a game plan before we enter. We know Nero’s’ army has a presence here, but they still don’t know our faces, just the seals,” Trajan was thinking out loud. It was a serious gamble walking into a town with Vesonia. While her face was not well known the seal was easily identifiable and if it was seen once they would both be hunted. Guilty by association.

  
“Nyx is already in my pocket, she is not happy about that by the way,” Vesonia pointed out patting her pocket, Nyx remained silent but emanated a distinct feeling of irritation. Vesonia pulled out the seal, the black plate swirling in Nyx’s apparent irritation.

  
“Well we have too, or we are going to be chased down. As it stands we are lucky Hemeras is hidden under my gloves.”

“Is the inn safe to stay in?”

  
“What do you mean?”

  
“Aeson said that troops liked to hang out in the tavern, I am not keen to get close to Deserians and whatever Nero has recruited.” Vesonia pointed out and Trajan sighed.

  
“I think we will be fine- Trajan stopped mid-sentence ears flicking towards some unknown sound, and stopped walking- I think a convoy is coming by.”

  
Vesonia looked farther up the road, resting back on the flat plain and saw a small cart cresting the hill. It was pulled by a large hulking pack animal, she recognized it as an akapi, a large terrestrial animal. It was a tall dark black animal, with a thick neck and long strong legs that were stripped gold and white. It lacked horns but had a thick plate down the front of its skull and a bull ring through its nose. The animal up the road snorted, and soon a timber Deserian walked past the cart and into sight. The Deserian was heavily armored, with metal plates running down its back held together with leather straps. A chest plate curled around its chest and cut off right before its under belly. Another Deserian walked around the side but unarmored, trotting to get ahead of the pack animal. The akapi unphased by the appearance of the two predators and came to a slow stop at the sound of a sharp command from the first Deserian.

  
The timber Deserian looked farther down the road spotting them. They yelled something behind it, and much to Trajan’s surprise an Ismenian strode up looking at them. They were a rich brown in color with white spots, and had white whiskers hanging down unbraided. They are wearing full iron armor, with Erebus emblem on the shoulder pads. The Ismenian stared hard before waving at the armored Deserian to follow them down the hill.

  
As the convoy approached Vesonia glanced over at Trajan,

 

“What do we do?”

  
“We wait,” she looked over stunned, her brows furrowing at them preparing to say something but interrupted by the approaching Ismenian who shouted,

  
“What’s your business with Phares,” The Ismenian came to a stop in front of Vesonia staring down at the elf. Her eyes fell upon the clan symbol on its neck and dread filled her. The short pattern, like Trajan but missing the sharp marks, was the crest of the Hades clan.

  
“We are passing through to trade for a few days,” She calmly replied watching as the Ismenian appraised her taking in the Canisius clan symbol.

  
“You are a long way from home Canisius,” The Ismenian noted, she frowned as their Deserian companion who came to a stop next to it. In the corner of her eye she could see Trajan standing tense next to her, claws ticking against their belt as they rested their hands on their hips.

  
“Again, we are travelers, we have products to trade in the market,” She mentioned to her companion who came forward and pulled down their pack to show the Ismenian the deer hide. The brown Ismenian stared at the hide, appraising it and pulled at their pack to sort through it.

  
“A deer hide won’t help you much right now, and I don’t suggest staying more than two eves at most,” The Ismenian handed back the bag after searching it, they looked between the two.  
“Is there anything else you need?” Trajan finally spoke up, staring down the Ismenian.

  
“No not currently, cause any trouble and you will be seeing more of me,” The Ismenian replied, upper lip pulling into a small snarl. Unphased Trajan continued to stare down the Ismenian who eventually took a step back in dismissal of the duo. Trajan was taller and the Ismenian backed off.

  
The convoy passed them without incident after that and the pair continued up the hill. The town was in clear view now. However she was still uneasy from their encounter. The likelihood of encountering the convoy again would be high since Trajan apparently wanted to stay in the town for a few days.

  
“How long do you think we can stay before causing trouble?”

  
“Two at most,” Trajan replied, also considering the amount of money they get from the deer pelt would impact how long they could stay considering she needed new equipment. She shrugged, while the prospect of a bed was nice she didn’t consider it a necessity. However, she had noticed the tension line in Trajan’s neck, from what she assumed was sleeping at weird angles. Most Ismenians tended to sleep slightly upright to prevent their horns from digging into the ground or bedding, it also kept them from developing sore necks.

  
“What did you make of that convoy,” she asked, genuinely curious at their reaction to an Ismenian serving Nero.

  
“I shouldn’t be surprised, I know Hades clan exists, but it has been a smaller clan despite its presence in the Pantheon due to Erebus. It's still concerning to see Ismenians bearing the symbol now.”  
“I don’t think they are finished with us, they seemed very suspicious at us traveling through.”

  
“Do you think those deserians pursuing you were part of this convoy?”

  
“Goddess I hope not,” she commented, she hadn’t thought of the two groups being connected but it did make sense. The Deserians had pursued her through the southern tip of Panthean into Adica and the Epiphanes forest as a result. The convoy still had fresh supplies from the appearance of the cart and must have been potentially passing through in search of Vesonia and decided to stay.

  
“I guess we're lucky no one's gotten a good look at your face, just knew the seal was nearby huh,” The comment from Trajan unsettled her. Knowing that Erebus could track her down due to his link with Nyx was a problem.

  
“It means we can’t stay for long at all,” she muttered, and the white Ismenian nodded.

  
“We still need to replace your supplies, hopefully they will have what we need,” Trajan pointed out and Vesonia sighed. She patted her pockets mimicking the lack of gold she had.  
“I just need supplies I can make my bow on my own, I made the one that got destroyed as well,” She pointed out and they looked momentarily surprised.

  
“You made it instead of buying it?”

  
“It’s expected in Canis, we are a small isolated town and we have to make our own tools and supplies. We don’t get many travelers.”

  
“Isn’t that far north?” she nodded.

  
“I’ve been traveling for a while,” was her only response and Trajan decided not to push farther. It was a great distance to travel alone, from the far north of Aprici to southern tip of Panathean and into Adica. Clearly, she had been traveling for more than a few months, though she did not appear as haggard as Trajan would have expected of a roaming traveler. Perhaps ranger in this case, Trajan thought taking in the elves survival skills.

  
Their conversation ending the two finally reached the town, the gates and large barricade surrounding the town looming over them. The fence surrounding the town was large made of 18-foot towering logs tightly bound together. The gate itself was made of metal, a small eye slot level with Trajan opened and a curious Ismenian staring back.

  
The slot closed after a moment and the large door slowly creaked open. A middle aged grey Ismenian appeared around the opening door, they sported blue whiskers and dual white horns. They were shorter than Trajan but had brilliant white and brown speckled markings down their back and again was missing a trademark clan symbol.

  
“Good afternoon, I’m Vesonia and this is my traveling companion Trajan. We were hoping you could point us to the inn?” She wanted to get this over with quickly.

  
“Greetings, we don’t get travelers often, so you are a welcome sight with all the turmoil recently,” They were polite, and she was mildly surprised given Aesons less than warm reception when Trajan knocked. She shrugged it off and waited for directions to the inn.

  
“How is the market?”

  
“It is good, we have supplies if you need them the inn is also near the town center and close to the market. If you follow the main road you will hit in quickly, if you have anymore questions feel free to stop by Trajan, Vesonia,” Calchus gave a short bow, before pushing the large door shut and returning to their post atop the wall overlooking the road.

  
Trajan and Vesonia turned the town taking in the road. It was a small town, Vesonia could see the well at the town center and the vague sign of a tavern and inn. The buildings were muted browns, and mostly constructed from logs from the forest and held together with dried clay and mud. Large arching doorways made it clear this was a town populated by Ismenians, and she sighed understanding that it meant more oversized chairs.

  
Trajan looked around taking in the area, the smell of spices and herb came from the market and their hopes of resupplying their medicinal bag was answered.

  
“Looks like we will be able to restock the medicinal supplies at least,” they commented and she made a small noise in response.

  
“I just need a new pack and supplies, so a new blanket, dagger, and bow supplies maybe some arrows,” She counted on her fingers what she needed, and the Ismenian internally groaned as the list grew. They thought of the gold they currently had and hoped market prices were low.

  
“Let’s focus on getting a room for 2 nights at least first,” Trajan commented as they approached the inn. A sign read the Maeonia Perch as they entered the inn. The sign depicted a maeonia curled up on its back drinking from a large stein. They snorted at the sign and silently thanked Aeson for being honest.

  
The tavern was relatively empty an odd Ismenian or two at tables drinking, they approached the dual horned barkeep who was sitting down counting gold. The older tan Ismenian looked up idly at Trajan, then to Vesonia and made a face. Trajan noted the dual horns, a trait not often seen in Ismenians. The horns branched off by the base, having two prongs instead of one long horn on each side.  
“What can Maeonia Perch do for you today? Beer, food and overnight lodging,” It was a practiced spiel, as they looked relatively uninterested. They rested their arm on the table, looking between the two.

  
“How much for two nights?”

  
“120 gold for both,” Trajan balked, that was steep. Vesonia rolled her eyes as they sighed.

  
“120?”

  
“Yep,” the barkeep leaned backwards crossing their arms.

  
“Is there any chance to lower that rate?”

  
“Not unless you want to join the maeonia hunt,” the barkeep replied pointing to the poster on the wall. A crudely drawn maeonia being speared was scribbled down and below it was written “1000 gold reward to any able to supply the white Maeonia pelt to Klaus”.

  
“That’s a steep bounty for a wild animal,” Vesonia noted leaning closer to look at the poster. The barkeep nodded.

  
“The white one has killed several villagers and hasn’t been caught yet even our most experienced tracker Artemis has been slaughtered.”

  
“Quiet a name for someone who was killed by a maeonia,” Trajan commented, it was avoided and condoned to name infants after titans or gods in fear of angering them. The barkeep nodded in agreement.

  
“Phares breeds its own unique culture and Ismenians as a result, their mother was the best tracker in the town and the whelp was believed to be as well and given the name,” The barkeep idly disclosed. Closing one eye and taking a puff on a pipe that had been hidden beneath the bar.

  
Trajan glanced at Vesonia for a moment, seemingly deciding before digging out the 120 gold and paying the keep, who counted the coins and grunted when it was the correct amount. They dug out a key behind the bar handing it to them.

  
“The room is up the stairs last room on the left,” and handed the key to Trajan who nodded.

  
They climbed the stairs and found the room quickly. It was sparsely decorated with two beds pushed against each side of the room. Two candles rested on the nightstand, and there was a window overlooking the town center. She was pleased to see the beds looked relatively normal beyond the extra pillows on each bed and watched as her companion set their pack down and pulled out their coin bag staring into it.

  
“We should go shopping in the market today in case we get run out of town,” Vesonia looked over at Trajan when they didn’t respond. “What?” she asked, and they looked up and scratched their ear.

  
“We need money,” they lifted their coin bag and she saw how empty it looked.

  
“What.”

  
“Well the room went through most of my money, and with the supplies you need- they paused at her expression- we need to take up that bounty, things usually aren’t this expensive” They finished taking a step away from the elf.

  
She sighed sitting on one of the beds and burying her face in her hands.

  
“You want us to go hunt a maeonia that has been documented eating town folks, dragon folk at that,” the Ismenian nodded. Her good eye twitched in irritation.

  
“We really don’t have a choice, they hunt maeonia here and have much more valuable hides than the small deer we have.”

  
“Did you forget the one that dragged a deserian carcass through the canopy?”

  
“No, and unless you have a magic plan to come into money without bringing suspicion it’s the best option” Trajan fired back at the irate elf. They were not happy about it either, but a 1000 gold would hold them over for a while. She sighed, looking out the window her bangs falling over her eyes.

  
“Should we hunt it tonight?”

  
“It is probably the best time, but we need to cross the river to get back into the Epiphanes.”

  
“Is there a bridge?”

  
“Probably, the Maeonia have to be coming into town through it, I don’t see them swimming,” They moved to the window and looked at the walls surrounding the town. Noticing a small gap that appeared to be facing the river.

  
They turned back to her to find she had shifted and was laying on the bed, she glanced over at them before pulling her cloak over her eyes.

  
“We’ve got a few hours,” She turned away and appeared to be trying to fall asleep. Trajan shrugged and sat down on the other bed, leaning against the wall of pillows sighing. The pair fell asleep quickly with the soft pillows and promise of relative safety.

  
Vesonia rolled over a few hours later waking up to the booming noises of the filled tavern below. She looked out the window watching the sun fall behind the hill. She sat up and watched as the evening crept in and the night settled over Phares, deciding to allow the exhausted Ismenian another hour of uninterrupted sleep. She rolled off the bed once she saw the dim light from the waning moons filter in through the window, silently cursing her stiff joints before calling to Trajan.

  
“Get up it’s the evening,” they didn’t stir, and she sighed. “Get up,” She grabbed their arm and shook startling the Ismenian awake. Trajan shot up shoving at the arm touching them.

  
“Wha- Trajan looked around for a moment before their vision cleared and they settled on Vesonia- is it evening?”

  
“Yeah get up,” she replied as she moved to grab her sword and strap it to her back. They shifted and stood up stretching before collecting their gear and joining the waiting elf at the door.

  
The pair passed the barkeep on their way out, who waved at them when they realized they intended to go hunt. The tavern had filled, several tables were full of mixes of Deserians lounging on long benches and Ismenians. Vesonia suppressed a grimace when a Deserian gripped the top of a wooden mug with their teeth and threw their head back drinking the ale in one gulp.

  
“Nice,” Trajan commented watching the drinking groups and Vesonia glared at them before elbowing Trajan and pointing to a corner. The brown Ismenian they had encountered earlier was sitting in a large chair legs crossed staring at them, their ears cocked forward with interest.

  
The defiant elf stared back for a moment, before continuing to walk to the door, the strong wooden door had been propped open to let the cooling air into the stuffy establishment. They heard a chair scratching against the polished wooden floors and saw the brown Ismenian was approaching them.

  
“Bit late in the eve to be wandering around town with weapons,” The Ismenian rested in front of the door cutting off the duo.

  
“We are seeking the maeonia bounty.”

  
“Dangerous bounty for an elf,” The Ismenian leered over her and Vesonia gritted her teeth, they were trying to intimidate her. The stare down was interrupted by a drunk Deserian who looked like the armored one they had seen earlier yelling at the Ismenian.

  
“Klaus come sit down and quit heckling people!” The Deserian was partially standing, tail lazily thumping against the table threatening to knock over several wooden steins. Klaus growled, looking between their companion and Vesonia and stalked back to their seat.

  
She looked between them, and then at the bounty poster and the name stamped at the end. She cursed under her breath, that Ismenian is who they were supposed to turn in the bounty too.  
Vesonia quickly walked out the door in the ensuing argument between the Deserian and Klaus.

  
“I’m trying to do my job Aca” Klaus yelled but was cut off by the Deserian.

  
“Yeah and we’re off duty so shove it and drink,” The Deserian snarled, looking at a stein at the table and slamming a large paw down shaking the mugs. Klaus glared at them but grabbed the stein and took a long draught regardless. Aca was clearly intoxicated, and Trajan paused at the door to watch Aca sway before taking a wooden mug in their mouth and drinking.

  
Vesonia turned and grabbed the Ismenian and pulled them out of the tavern, their long tail slapping the door as they attempted to regain their balance after being pulled unexpectedly. The door opened further at the motion and they stumbled forward following the elf towards the suspect bridge. The town was lighting up with candles illuminating windows, the town courier hurried by lighting the street lamps as dusk settled. They lifted the long pole and flame delicately to each lamp and watched as the street was illuminated by the light casting sharp shadows across the dirt road.

  
Vesonia watched for a moment before turning her attention to the gap in the barrier and indeed saw a long bridge with a tall gate at the end, leaving directly into the Epiphanes. The dark forest loomed, the branches reaching out across the river, with thick vines hanging down weighing tree limbs into the water. It was unsettling to say the least.  
They approached the tall gate, their footsteps echoing over the calm river and a guard looked at them.

  
“I don’t recommend traveling at night,” The guard warned, they carried a long spear that Vesonia assumed was meant to deter maeonia from climbing the gate.

  
“We are going after the white one,” Trajan explained stepping forward. The guard eyed them for a moment before sighing and climbing down from their watch tower. The gate was a slowly opened as the Ismenian pulled at the large handle.

  
“Good luck we do not send search parties out for strangers.”

  
Trajan nodded, and walked through the gate with their companion trailing behind. The path was extremely dark and as the gate shut any light coming from the town, everything was slowly dissipating into inky darkness. They walked confidently ahead of the elf, being able to follow the small road leading into the forest while Vesonia followed the white tail she could make out in the dark and the vague outline of looming trees. They were not far enough in to witness or see the bioluminescent fungus or plants, she was effectively blind. Not a good thing to be hunting a notorious maeonia.

  
“Why didn’t I bring a torch?”

  
“Because it wouldn’t have done you any good, it would just bog you down while fighting,” they didn’t even turn around when they replied, but she could hear the annoyance in their voice. They were correct but being blind wasn’t helpful at all, she was already blind in one eye.

  
She felt the seal resting in her pocket pulse for a moment, and she pulled it out and saw the distinct glowing eyes of Nyx staring at her. The goddess watched her, brushing against the seal asking silent permission before Vesonia nodded and the goddess’s senses overtook hers. The forest suddenly lit up and she could see the forest around herself.

  
For once Vesonia was grateful for the weird gifts that were granted to seal holders. Due to Nyx’s power as goddess of night, she was able to see in any conditions without light. Nyx’s sight was not traditional in the sense, she noticed. The world had a sharp tinge to it, trees, organic life almost glowed, including Trajan. That glow what was caused the forest to light up and allowed her to see. She mentally noted to ask the goddess later about the ability but in the moment was a grateful for it.

  
Trajan glanced behind at the now silent elf, who was starting to catch up and was surprised to see her eye had a soft glow, as the elf looked around seemingly unaware of the change. They also noted the seal was glowing, connecting the dots that Nyx was influencing her sight. They turned back to the dwindling road, which was nothing more than a glorified animal trail at that point. So far there had been no signs of any maeonia, but they figured they hadn’t traveled far enough in yet.

  
The farther the pair walked, the narrower the trail became and eventually it disappeared altogether as they trudged through high ferns and fallen logs. Vesonia climbed onto a particularly large stump to gain a better view and noticed broken branches littering the ground a few feet away. She hopped off the log and walked over to a large broken limbs picking it up with both hands.

  
“Trajan, these have large claw marks on them,” she tossed over the limb to Trajan who inspected it.

  
“Looks like we have at least one in the area, but it is ours?”

  
“We don’t know until we get attacked,” she punctuated the comment by looking up into the canopy which had become denser and very little light filtered through. The trees had grown in size the further they walked, the 60 foot giants loomed over them, the bases thicker than any tree could be in the north.

  
The canopy was lit up with all the trees intermingling, with a dense cover of branches. It was hard to distinguish anything, a noise next to her drew her attention back down and glanced over at the click. Trajan was unclasping the wrapping around their primary whiskers starting from behind their ears working their way down the appendages. The gold feathering matted down by the constant binding fluffed up by the gentle breeze through the field. They shook their head, ruffling the whiskers as they rested against their chest, and began walking. The elf trailed behind looking around, attempting to see or hear anything around them. The one thing that had bothered her since she entered the forest was the lack of noise, it had been almost silent aside from their feet crunching leaves and twigs on the ground. Something was wrong here, the noises from the town and animals had faded away.

  
The Ismenian walked slowly, head shifting as they attempted to sense the area around them. The forest was oddly quiet, not many animals were around asides from an odd lizard or martin darting up a tree. They traveled for a few minutes before they sensed a large mass to their left the electrical current pulsing erratically around the gold whiskers, the Ismenian slowly motioned for their companion to be silent. The elf nodded, dropping into a low stance watching where her feet fell to reduce noise.

  
The mass on the tree shifted and they both heard a large exhale and a soft growl. Wood groaned as the creature clambered down from the side of the massive oak and Vesonia saw it clearly now. It was a large maeonia, she couldn’t tell its coloring clearly in the hazy glow around it. The maeonia eyes settled on them, it growled before taking a step forward, its secondary set of limbs tucked up against its belly as it walked on the ground, claws digging in with each step. The maeonia appeared darker with each step it took, its eye appeared red in the lighting and its patterning a soft tan in contrast with its dark coat, almost invisible in the night. The maeonia snapped its jaws, drooling on the ground as it stalked towards them.

  
Vesonia drew her sword, strengthening her stance and in the corner of her left eye saw Trajan had already unsheathed their daggers. They slowly moved apart walking around the approaching animal. The maeonia stopped looking between the two, it stared at Trajan appraising the Ismenian before growling and turning to Vesonia who had moved farther behind it.

  
The animal lunged at her its teeth biting into the iron as she blocked the attack. She grunted with the force of the animal as it knocked her over. The maeonia bit harder into the sword, blood dripping onto her hand as the blade bit into its gums. She heard the metal groaning. Fearing it might break she dropped the sword and rolled away to its side as the maeonia shoved itself down to where she had just been. Its teeth clamping together was audible through the dense forest. Vesonia grabbed its thick fur and dragged herself onto the safest place she could think of, the back of the maeonia, her feet digging into it’s sides. The boots pressing in between its ribs.

  
Trajan had bolted over as soon as they realized the maeonia was going after the small elf, but the altercation happened so quickly they stared for a moment surprised when she pulled herself on top of the beast. The maeonia bucked at its new rider, rearing up and turning its head around attempting to bite, but she was too close to its neck. The elf held tightly, eyes wide staring at the maeonias furious eyes as it tried to bite her.

  
Trajan ran up beside the pair, attempting to find a spot to attack and was baffled when they couldn’t find an opening. The maeonia continued to rage as she refused to yield, the seal around her neck pulsed as Nyx attempted to manifest. The goddess pushed at the seals boundaries and the maeonia suddenly sensed the intense aura of the goddess. The wyvern finally manifested as Vesonias concentration broke when the maeonia let out a fierce roar at its small rider, rattling her frame with the noise.

  
Nyx loomed over the pair, matching the beast in size, the maeonia stilled and stared up at the wyvern. It cocked its head from side to side as it appraised its new opponent. It was oddly silent, now ignoring Vesonia on its back. The pair had a staring contest, Trajan could only watched baffled, from the outside the two monstrous beings appeared to be having a conversation.

  
Vesonia, still clinging tightly, looked up at goddess of night confused but remained silent. The predator shifted, making a low noise before looking back a its rider and reared once it realized her focus was not on it. She was thrown from the beast and hit the ground hard rolling away, the maeonia looked at Nyx for a moment before turning to the fallen elf snarling.

  
“You need to prove yourself,” Nyx stated, watching the maeonia rapidly approaching her. She looked at Nyx confused as she stumbled to her feet.

  
“Excuse me?”

  
“The maeonia is testing your strength, if you can’t impress it you will die,” The goddess stated calmly, Trajan gaffed at black wyvern before moved to intervene.

  
Nyx glanced at them through the corner of her eyes, her shadows coming up and encasing their feet and arms. The Ismenian struggled, willing Hemera to come out, but the god remained oddly silent at the struggles of their seal holder. They began to panic, why wasn’t Hemera intervening, what was happening?

  
“Nyx do you plan on killing Vesonia?” Trajan yelled out, as the shadows twisted and curled around them more tightly silencing them with a harsh squeeze. Nyx didn’t acknowledge them but watched as her seal holder and the hulking black beast stared each other down.

  
A bead of sweat fell from Vesonias brow as she stared at the beast, unarmed and outsized by the animal by far, she couldn't see past the animals form. She glanced momentarily at Nyx and Trajan, they were floating in midair encased Nyx’s shadow. Nyx was watching, but not intervening, something Vesonia had already expected. She was on her own, facing a deadly animal that had managed to kill several Ismenians. The maeonia took a step closer, growling baring its teeth at the elf.

  
Vesonia stared at it, her ears shifting back flashing her teeth at the beast. The maeonia stared at the action, before beginning to finally approach but she didn’t budge. Nyx said she needed to prove her strength, she lifted her fists in a fighting stance and began to approach the snarling predator.

  
The beast stopped its approach, before lunging at the elf, who ducked and punched up at its jaw landing a hit. The maeonia snarled at the hit, grasping her easily with its secondary claws restraining her against its chest. She struggled for a moment, and as the claws grasped tighter she panicked and bit down on the closest toe drawing blood. The maeonia let out a screech dropping her on her back and jumping away.

  
She hit the ground with a grunt, the air being knocked out of her lungs. The elf struggled to her feet coughing, while the maeonia turned to her after licking its injured toe. It snarled viciously at Vesonia, tiring of the fight, responded with her own imitation. She blew a stray strand of hair out of her face. The animal stared at her hard, she stared back at it unblinking. The animal began moving forward again, and she snarled again flashing her teeth. She couldn’t get to her sword, and Nyx seemed like she wanted it to remain alive or she would have killed it when she emerged.

  
The maeonia stayed back this time, unwilling to risk another bite. The northern elf watched it pace around her for a moment before she charged at it, leaving Trajan and even the goddess surprised. The maeonia took a step before rearing up as she got close, slashing out with large claws. Thinking quickly she grabbed the paw and held on as the predator pulled it in to bite her. She quickly wrapped her hands around its mouth before it had a chance to snap and kicked hard against its throat.

  
Trajan winced as they watched the maeonia rear back and let out a loud hacking cough. The beast bowed for a moment, shaking as it regained its breath before looking up and lunging. It managed to bite down on Vesonias hood when she tried to roll. It jerked its head back and shook ripping the hood of her. She cursed as she watched her cloak shredded by the angry animal, she threw a punch while the maeonia was distracted as it tried untangling the cloak from its fangs and landed a punch in its nose. The animal took a step back, pawing at its nose as its teeth worked the fabric of the cloak. The beast no longer seemed interested in attacking and was whimpering as it pawed its muzzle.

  
Nyx released Trajan, who immediately rushed over to their companion placing themselves between the maeonia and the elf. The animal was still pawing at its nose rubbing it in the dirt, and in that moment Vesonia felt guilty. The nose was a notoriously sensitive spot for maeonia and other species with deep nasal cavities. She took a step towards the distressed animal, grabbing the Ismenians arm.

  
“Hang on,” she stepped around the confused dragon before slowly approaching the animal. The maeonia raised its head at her approach, snarling around the tangled fabric. She raised her arms slowly, before approaching after the animal calmed. She reached towards it mouth getting a startled yell from Trajan.

  
“What are you doing?”

  
She didn’t respond, just began to gentle remove the fabric from its teeth. The maeonia silently watched as she methodically removed the tangled fabric. The animal didn’t budge when she rested her hand gently on its snout. Nyx finally moved, coming in close to the pair.

  
“It seems you impressed it, congratulations you have a new companion.”

  
“What do you mean companion?” She asked, the goddess didn’t look impressed.

  
“Did your grandmother not teach you about the old traditions of the Canisius?”

  
“She doesn’t like to talk about,” Vesonia responded surprised when the maeonia moved to lay down and lick its injured paw unconcerned with its companions.

  
“It was a tradition for those who are of age to tame a maeonia as a life companion. Your town is in a heavily wooded and mountainous area, akapi and other pack animals don’t deal with the terrain well. A maeonia can handle both terrains well and you don’t need to worry about carrying feed if prey is nearby. They are fiercely loyal companions once bonded to a clansman and will protect you with their life. This maeonia did not fear me and was worthy of being your companion,” Nyx explained before receding into the seal. The maeonia looked up before looking to the pair. The animal stood up and gave a long stretch, it presented its head to Vesonia who hesitantly stroked its forehead. The animal grumbled in a soft purr at the attention.

  
“Great so instead of killing it we befriended a dragon eater,” Trajan put their hands on their hips as they appraised the animal. The maeonia stared back, before turning away.

  
“What do we do? This isn’t the white maeonia on the poster.”

  
The dragon look at it and scratched one of their horns in thought. The area was buzzing in electrical activity, distracting the Ismenian. They vaguely sensed a presence above them, but ignored it in favor of the animal in front of them.

  
Vesonia looked unimpressed at Trajan. The calmed beast watched the two idly before standing up and disappearing into the tree line. Vesonia watched it go confused. They jumped when loud growls and screeching could be heard from the canopy a few minutes later.

  
“What did it do,” She looked concerned as it went still in the canopy before loud crashing noises were punctuated with large branches falling, and soon the corpse of a maeonia fell before her. It was white, like described in the bounty poster. The dead animal had a large bite mark in its neck. The large maeonia climbed down from the trees a moment later, dropping from the trees next to Vesonia, dwarfing the elf. She barely came up to its shoulder. It nosed the dead animal towards her.

  
“Can it understand us talking or was it trying to protect you?” Trajan asked concerned.

  
“I don’t know but we have a white maeonia now apparently,” Vesonia looked at her new supposed companion and then the dead body and sighed.

  
Trajan slung the dead maeonia over their shoulder and waved at Vesonia to follow. The dead animal was smaller than the live one but not by much. The animal was heavy, and Trajan grunted at the weight.

  
The maeonia was dragged back by a disgruntled Ismenian, its tail dragging the whole way. They slowly made their way back to the town, once they hit the main trail Vesonia paused. She unclasped her seal and hid it safely in her pocket before turning to the maeonia.

  
“You need to hide until we leave town or they will kill you,” The animal snorted at the last comment as if to say, ‘yeah sure,’ but retreated up into the trees. The pair made it into town within 20 minutes, startling the town guard who stared at the dead maeonia slung over Trajan’s shoulder. A trail of blood behind the pair as they approached the gate.

  
“Holy gods did you kill that?”

  
“Yes, can you let us in, so we can collect the bounty?” The guard scrambled down pulling the gate open, staring as the two walked back into the now quiet town.

  
Much to their surprise Klaus and several Deserians were waiting to greet them.

  
“I didn’t think you would make it back alive, let alone with the animal we have been searching for congratulations,” Klaus walked up to them with a bag that hung heavy with gold.

  
“Call it beginners’ luck,” Vesonia replied as Trajan set down the animal for Klaus to appraise. The captain walked around the animal, leaning down to observe the bite marks in the neck and looked at Trajan whose whisker were still unbound and clean muzzle.

  
“Quite a barbaric way to kill something, with your teeth, Chronos, but still have enough time to clean up.”

  
Trajan bit back a snarl at the comment, but Vesonia responded before they had an opportunity.

  
“The maeonia proved a dangerous opponent we both lost our weapons during the fight and my companion was better equipped to deal with it than I am.”

  
Klaus squinted looking between them before nodding. Klaus waved over a deserian before lifting and setting the maeonia on the cart they had brought and barked an order at the Deserian.

  
“Take it to the butcher to be skinned and prepared to be sent to Nero as a prize.”

  
The Deserian bit the bar connected to the cart trotted of with the other behemoth wolf Klaus had brought towards the butcher.

  
“I suppose we should thank you for doing our job of eliminating that animal, been quite a nuisance.”

  
Vesonia regarded Klaus at the statement, her eyes narrowing in a hard stare,"It is rare for maeonia to wander into settlements so i would imagine it was."The elf replied flippantly while her companion juggled back of money eagerly. 

  
Trajan eagerly took the bag, opening it and looking inside. Pure gold bars stared back, not even a copper or silver piece in sight. They synched the bag shut happy with the amount, clasping arms with Klaus momentarily. Vesonia watched the interaction bored, not being as interested in money as Trajan. Her town may be the home of a proud clan but it was still small and subsided of what it could produce as traders found it too dangerous to visit.

  
Klaus turned to her extending their arm, she copied Trajan and nodded her head in a small bow.

  
“We will be out of town by eve after, we need at a full day to resupply and recuperate from the fight,” Trajan mentioned trying to be amicable to avoid a confrontation feeling less frustrated now they had the gold that was promised.

  
“Be sure you leave when you promise I don’t want the peace being disturbed,” Klaus looked over at Vesonia, who made a face. Did they expect her to be the source of the problems? They were probably correct in that assumption Trajan mused.

  
The duo parted from Klaus after that making their way to the tavern. Vesonia collapsed into the bed, falling asleep instantly while Trajan settled down by the window making sure they wouldn’t be getting a visit from the unwelcome Ismenian overnight. The evening went by quickly, They quietly dozed off at the window only waking to the morning sun warming their fur. Vesonia was already awake and down by the town well washing her face and dumping water over her hair.

  
They snorted, elves and their need to clean their tiny patch of hair on their heads. She glanced up at the window when they stood up, before turning back to the basin of water she had and finishing up whatever she was doing. The elf soon appeared back in the room, admittedly smelling less like the ranger she was and more like a presentable elf. If they hadn’t already known they would have guessed she was raised by Ismenians and not elves.

  
“Let’s go get supplies, I need a new cloak now as well.”

  
Trajan nodded and the two wandered into the market, bustling in the morning light. The town was alive since the news of the two slaying the maeonia had traveled through the town. An older Ismenian approached the two carrying a small bag, presenting them with leather straps and dried goods for traveling.

  
“Please take this you have done so much for the town, I hope this will help you on your way,” Vesonia took the offered bag.

  
“Thank you, this will be very helpful.”

  
Trajan leaned over her and investigated the bag nodding.

  
“That cuts down on some of the things we need,” They noted idly satisfied that they may be able to haggle certain items down without much of a fuss.

  
They were pleasantly surprised when each stand they visited the duo received certain items discounted or even free. They managed to trade the deer hide for a small satchel of dried apple slices for the elf.

  
Soon they had amassed the supplies they needed and Vesonia had even been gifted a deep blue cloak from a seamstress who had lost a family member to the maeonia. The cloak was lined with fur and had several small internal pockets, and she was satisfied with the quality.

  
It was late in the afternoon by the time the two were done shopping and began to head back to the tavern.

  
As the two walked away from the market with their supplies Vesonia rubbed the fabric of her new cloak.

  
“I Feel bad accepting this knowing the maeonia that slaughtered their relative might be our companion now.”

  
“We don’t know if that was the one who was attacking the town, it seems there were several albino maeonia lurking in that forest and besides your maeonia is black.”

  
She sighed, agreeing with Trajan. The likelihood of the attacks continuing was slimmer now that two maeonia had been removed from the immediate area. The two walked into the tavern and moved up to the shared room to drop their loot from the shopping trip.

  
“I’m going to get a drink in the pub,” Vesonia announced, setting her blade down and moving towards the door but Trajan pushed the door shut when she attempted to open it.

  
“With the deserians hanging around?”

  
“Yeah, they got plastered last night I don’t think we have much to worry about.”

  
“Klaus did not, and they clearly hang around here after hours,” They pointed out and the elf scowled. The Ismenian was irritated with the dismissive attitude from the elf, especially considering the suspscision she had showed towards them.

  
“Look I just beat a maeonia that probably weighed triple of what you do, I think I can handle some goons,” and with that she swatted the Ismenians claws of the door and went down to the tavern. They followed behind clearly concerned, and they settled at a table in the back of the tavern.

  
The barkeep approached with two mugs before the two had a chance to order.

  
“First rounds on the house for slaying that maeonia,” They set down two mugs of ale and she graciously thanked them while her companion scowled.

  
“What’s the matter don’t drink?” She raised her mug at her moping companion who didn’t respond but grabbed the other mug, hiding their snout in it. She heard them exhale into the mug disrupting the ale. She shrugged and took a sip of the ale, satisfied with the taste.

  
“In other news once we leave town I can make a new bow,” She mentioned and only received a hum in response.

  
“Good we need more firepower.”

  
The white Ismenian quietly sipped their drinks, unhappy at being in the bar unarmed. Vesonia sat back and took a long drink and waved at the bartender ordering another drink. If Trajan was going to sulk she was going to enjoy her evening of rest at least.

  
The bartender brought over her second drink and Vesonia smiled and took a big sip. Trajan watched the mug get set down and stared at her brows furrowing. The elf stared back, placing her mug on the table and leaning back.

  
Neither party talked and continued to drink in silence. The pair remained silent as the tavern filled up, and soon was crowded and loud while Vesonia worked on her fourth drink. The elf sighed, looking around the busy tavern. Trajan had declined a third drink and was still nursing their second one, watching the slightly inebriated elf stare at a wall.

  
As more people filtered in and more tables began to fill, much to their surprise a familiar grey Ismenian stepped in. Aeson slipped into the tavern walking with a cane and slowly made their way over to the table Vesonia and Trajan occupied. Aeson was carrying a large sack on their back.

  
“Mind if I have a seat?” Aeson asked and Trajan stood up quickly and moved over so the aging Ismenian could sit down more easily. Aeson looked over at Vesonia and the collection of mugs around her and sighed.

  
“She -uh is celebrating,” Trajan explained and the older Ismenian nodded.

  
“A big feat indeed which is why I brought something you might need,” Aeson pulled open their pack and removed a bow. Vesonia was snapped out of whatever drunken state she was in to look at the bow. It was an oak bow, with diamond patterning up and down the side of the bow. It had a deep rich red stain finish and looked old, the wood slightly worn, but high quality.

  
“I am afraid I don’t travel much or fight these days, and seeing you tame a maeonia was an impressive feat Vesonia Canisius,” Aeson presented the bow to the elf who cautiously reached for it.  
“You saw us in the forest last night?”

  
“Yes, sometimes take late night walks when the patrols are less frequent,” Aeson sat back and watched as as she inspected the bow with interest. “I may be old, but I am no fool as to why you were in the Epiphanes.”

  
Both of them stiffened for a moment, Trajan silently cursing that they left their weapons upstairs. They moved to stand but was stopped by a raised hand from their elder.

  
“Calm down whelp, I am not here to fight just to talk.”

  
They reluctantly sat back down and Aeson lifted an eyebrow appraising the young Ismenian for a moment before smiling.

  
“Good, good. It’s been a long time since I have been with kin please meet me at my cottage in the morning where we can discuss things more yes?” Aeson smiled and ordered an ale.  
“What do you mean- Trajan paused as they noticed Klaus and the deserians had arrived- ah.”

  
The older Ismenian nodded as the barkeep set down their mug.

  
“Don’t see you around often Aeson, still kicking it at the water mill?”

  
“Some things don’t change Leous, I was in town trading some fresh flour. I see your sill swindling travelers.”

  
The barkeep let out a loud laugh clapping Aeson on the back, before turning to attend to the new arrivals. Klaus settled at a table across the way after chasing off the two villagers sitting there.

  
“I think it's best you two turn in before someone decides to investigate,” Aeson didn’t look up from their mug as they spoke but Trajan nodded. Vesonia grumbled, disappointed she couldn’t drink more and downed the last of her ale.

  
“I agree,” They stood up pulling the elf to her feet with her bow in hand and corralled her up the steps. The elf stumbled a bit, before gaining her footing and walking up the stairs. She collapsed on the bed but didn’t immediately fall asleep like they expected. Instead after the door was closed she sat up straight. Seems she was feigning intoxication, they raised their eyebrow and she made a rude gesture at them.

  
“I don’t trust Aeson.”

  
“They clearly know more than we thought.”

  
“Aeson had to of recognized the pendant Trajan, what if they turn us in to Klaus?” she stood up, motioning to the pendant in her pocket.

  
“The only thing we can do is meet them tomorrow morning at their home Vesonia, if we confront them now we will make a scene big enough to piss Klaus off. They are looking for one mistake on our part to arrest us, they already doesn’t trust we actually killed that maeonia.”

  
“Don’t remind me, what am I supposed to do with that maeonia? It’s probably going to follow me after we leave town,” The elf sat down on the bed in a crumpled heap, holding the bow in her lap staring at it.

  
“You should name it.”

  
“What?”

  
“I’m just saying it might make you feel better about having it around.”

  
“I- I am not naming it,” She said firmly after a moment. Should she name it?

  
Trajan shrugged, they sat down on their bed and pulled off their foot coverings and overcoat. They were wearing a soft blue undershirt that was tucked into their leather pants, they untucked the shirt and laid back on the pillows sighing in a long stretch. The dragon let out a long yawn flashing their teeth as they settled in for the night.

  
“The best we can do is get a decent night’s rest and meet them in the morning.”

  
She watched them for a moment before sighing, she kicked her boots off and laid back on the pillows staring out the window. The seal tucked in her shirt pocket pulsed for a moment before going quiet. Seems Nyx agreed with Trajan, the elf sighed and fell asleep.

  
In the morning the pair set off for Aesons, bidding goodbye to the barkeep. Thankfully the convoys captain was nowhere in sight. When they exited the town Vesonia could see the black maeonia lurking in the tree line across the river following them as they walked.

  
When they approached Aesons cottage, the old Ismenian was already standing outside waiting for them.

  
“Thank you for coming,” Aeson welcomed them inside and motioned for them to sit.

  
“What did you want to see us for?”

  
“I did not want Klaus or the convoy listening to us speak, they should be leaving soon since the danger of the maeonia has passed for now. What I wanted to discuss was what you two are currently going to do.”

  
Vesonia made a confused face her nose pinching, unsure of what Aeson meant.

  
“It has been a long time since anyone has attempted to tame a maeonia, in the past this town was famous for it and our maeonia were often sent north to Canis, but that history has long since been forbidden by Nero,” Aeson moved to poor the group tea before sitting down.

  
“I have been around a long time, I used to train elf and Ismenian alike including Astraeus Canisius.”

  
She perked up at the mention of her father but was stopped from commenting by a hand in the air. She idly remembered the lesson from her grandmother about listening to elders and stayed silent.

One of the few lessons she actually took in about evlen culture.

  
“I knew who you were the moment I saw the seal, its not hard to forget Nyx or the first seal. I trained your father and his maeonia Nicanor 60 years ago, when I heard of his death I knew I must wait until his heir came to pass on this knowledge.”

  
“What do you have to teach me then?”

  
“Well you already got the first part down, tame and gain the respect of a maeonia. As I’m sure you know there are many kinds of maeonia, the most common kind that are companions are the horned aprici maeonia, it is rare for forest maeonia to be used as a companion. You seem ready to test the limits,” The elder Ismenian watched her over their mug. The short elf smiled sheepishly.

  
“It found me first,” She pointed out and Aeson nodded.

  
“Most companions will seek out their master if they choose, they must have sensed Nyx’s aura and came to investigate. You befriended a strong maeonia, but you must tame it if you wish to ride.”

  
Trajan spit out the sip they were taking and she paled.

 

“Ride it?”

  
“Yes, they are very mobile steeds.”

  
“I tried that last night it didn’t end too well,” She responded with a pained edge in her ton, remembering the dull ache that rang through her body from the fight.

  
“Well it didn’t respect you yet.”

  
She frowned.

  
“I don’t know if I want it too.”

  
Aeson looked at her hard, “I think you will once you realized how capable they are.”

  
Trajan finally spoke after regaining their composure from the riding comment from the elder.

  
“Why did Nero forbid the knowledge of maeonia riding?” Not even Coeus had mentioned it to them during their training.

  
Aeson looked at the younger Ismenian, and stroked their mane collecting their thoughts.

  
“Maeonia are dangerous animals, I’m sure you have realized but their prowess in battle can exceed even highly trained Ismenians. Having one trained maeonia is enough to challenge the whole convoy sent from the capitol armor and all- Aeson paused debating on what to say- I believe Nero fears what could happen if the art was continued and hidden allies of the Pantheon had strong maeonia that could easily dispatch his troops and travel around quickly without flying. Having a team of maeonia riders would put Nero at a disadvantage as most of his army is incapable of bonding with the beasts, or simply too afraid of the beasts to attempt taming them.”

  
Trajan nodded.

  
“But wasn’t Nero a maeonia rider himself?” They pointed out, and the grizzled Ismenian sighed. “Once he was, he had tamed an albino maeonia from this very forest but when he staged his coup his maeonia was killed in a battle. While a maeonia has been wreaking havoc on this town, the bounty for a white maeonia was a vanity project on Nero’s part,” Aeson snarled, their face curling in disgust.  
“Maeonia are proud animals, not trophies.”

  
Vesonia made a face, she didn’t kill unless she needed too the thought of an individual trophy hunting made her sick to her stomach. Trajan scowled, it made sense Nero wanted to replace his lost maeonia but why did he want a dead one?

  
“I have something to show you,” Aeson stood up abruptly, and walked slowly over to a large closet in the back of their cottage. The older Ismenian opened a door and a cloud of dust rolled out of the closet. They waved at a window and Trajan stood to open it, and the dust cleared away. Against a wall rested several large saddles, the saddles were long with stirrups and straps to hold them in place. Several complicated strap systems attached separately to the saddle, she recognized the breast collar at least. She watched as the old Ismenian pulled out a tan and blue saddle, slinging it over their shoulder and turned to her.

  
“Follow me,” Aeson walked out their front door and the duo followed them out, Aeson crossed the bridge and immediately veered onto a small path that lead into the Epiphanes that had been missed on their arrival to the town a few days prior.

  
The older Ismenian walked with practiced ease through the trees and stopped when they hit a small clearing surrounded by trees. Vesonia noticed the trees had been manually removed, and small stones stacked in a small fence circled the enclosure. Aeson set the saddle down and took a seat on the ground and the other two followed suits. They didn’t wait for long before the sound of cracking branches filled the clearing.

  
The dark maeonia climbed down from a tree and into full view. In the light she could clearly make out its coat color now, a dark blue almost black with a mix of tan and white speckles down its back. It was a truly beautiful animal. The animal seemed hesitant at first, taking one step and peering around before moving farther in towards Vesonia. The great beast stopped before her, sniffing her face because laying down and settling its head in her lap. The maeonias head took up the entirety of her lap and still didn’t fit properly. The animal purred softly, as its massive body rested in the soft grass.

  
She looked over at Aeson who had a small smile of their face, if she didn’t know any better she swore she saw the faint shimmer of tears in the eyes of the older Ismenian. For twenty years they were forced to stop training the next generation of the ancient art, it must have been difficult to watch it die out. Now there was an opportunity to see it come to fruition once again, and the art come to life.

  
“Now time for the second lesson: saddling your maeonia,” Aeson stood slowly, and the maeonia ears pricked as it lifted its head to look at them. Vesonia settled a hand on its side hoping to steady it.

The animal relaxed, and the old Ismenian approached.

  
The beast stood up as they approached, and Aeson motioned for her to retrieve the saddle. She cautiously hauled the heavy mass of leather onto her shoulder and approached the maeonia who watched with interest.

  
“Now you need to take the saddle and rest it over its back. You don’t need a blanket since its fur is so dense on its shoulder,” Vesonia nodded and gently hauled the saddle over the shifting animals back. The maeonia made an odd noise turning to look at the object on it.

  
“Just let it get used to the weight.”

  
She looked over at Aeson and then to the beast who sniffed the leather before chewing on a loose strap.

  
“Well at least it likes the taste of it,” Trajan commented as the animal gnawed on the thick leather strap.

  
They let the maeonia play with the saddle for a few minutes before Aeson instructed Vesonia how to put the straps on and secure the saddle.

  
“First you need to secure the chest strap, the thick one in the middle, yes- yes, and now the breast collar, pull the two straps attached to the front of the saddle- yes, those ones and attach them to the chest strap, yes just liked putting a saddle on akapi. Good now take the crupper, yes the other thick strap and bring it around behind the maeonias tail slowly.”

  
She looked nervous as the animal watched her as she pulled the strap around behind its tail, gently looping the two straps around the moving tail before securing it and buckling the straps back to the saddle.

  
“Good, very good now for the final belly strap, make sure you can fit four fingers under it or its too tight. It needs to be secure, so the saddle won't slip when its climbing. Now you need to tighten the breast straps, so they are flush with the skin, but the bottom strap attached the main strap needs to remain loose. Good, its done,” Aeson announced as she pulled the final straps into the place and the maeonia finally shifted away sick of the all the prodding.

  
The animal moved around the paddock seemingly staying with the walls, it approached the grey Ismenian and sniffed before moving on to Trajan and seemed satisfied with what it found.

  
“Most bonded maeonia will not attack unless it feels its master is in danger, we don’t quite understand it but they can form intense immediate bonds with individuals they choose,” Aeson explained when they noticed the confused look on Trajan’s face. The young Ismenian nodded watching as the black maeonia moved back over to Vesonia sniffing her before licking up the side of her face. The elf grimaced, wiping her hand down the side of face leaving a trail of drool.

  
“Now you should try getting on again,” Aeson said and she grimaced. “Don’t worry, make sure your feet are secured in the stirrups and strapped in.”

  
The elf glanced at the stirrups that looked more like shin coverings, she moved to the side of the maeonia who made a noise as she stroked its neck. The animal settled and she grabbed the horn of the saddle and pulled herself up, praying for the best. She quickly shoved her feet into the stirrups, which Aeson seemingly already adjusted for her. The maeonia snarled for a moment before rearing and darting forward, trying to dislodge its new rider.

  
“I thought you said the second round would be better,” She yelled out as it started to climb up a nearby tree.

  
“Its not trying to kill you now is it?” Aeson pointed out and the elf let out a frustrated yell as the maeonia pushed off the tree it had climbed leaping back into the field and went into another fit of bucks. She looked more like a rag doll tied to the animal, rather than a living breathing elf.

  
Trajan watched mildly amused as she was dragged around the clearing by the agitated animal. This continued for a solid 20-30 minutes, she was unsure how much time had passed until the animal finally slowed.

  
“You need to calm it try stroking its neck.”

  
She stared at Aeson in the moment of respite while the animal regained its breath, she reached forward and gently stroked its neck and the maeonia looked back at her. The two had a staring contest, red boring into silver before the maeonia seemingly came to some conclusion and sat down refusing to move. Vesonia leaned forward and clutched at the animal’s neck. The old Ismenian chuckled at the sight. She shot a glare his way, while the beast seemed uninterested as it sniffed its front paw.

  
“Good, seems to have accepted you being there. Now we need to try and put the bridle on.”

  
Vesonia paled. She was not willing to stick her hands anywhere nears it face at the current moment, eyeing the sharp canines poking out from under its lips.

  
“Bridle?”

  
Aeson smiled and grabbed the last bit of tack that been left forgotten on the ground. It look like a normal bridle but lacked a bit. Aeson slowly approached the maeonia, who stared at them. They stopped a few feet from it, staring the animal in the eyes. After a moment Aeson approached and extended a hand out, Vesonia winced getting ready for it to lunge and bite. Instead the maeonia sniffed the offered limb, before softly purring as Aeson stroked its muzzle.

  
“The art of taming maeonia is patience, and asserting dominance, maeonia will not respond well to people who fear them and often bite if you show hesitation,” Aeson explained to the two who watched with awe. The maeonia allowed Aeson to slip the bridle on without a fuss and they handed Vesonia the reigns.

  
“Maeonia are smart beasts, they learn quickly, and they aren’t hard to break and easy to control if they have bonded with you. Why don’t you try it? Gently pressure with your legs to get it to stand then direct it around the ring.”

  
Vesonia squeezed the saddle with her knees, the maeonia looked back at her for a moment cocking its head. She wasn’t sure what else to do.

  
“Walking would be great,” The animal cocked its head at her before standing up and slowly began to walk. Aeson smiled and made a motion with their hands to move the reigns. Vesonia pulled the reins to the right and the animal moved with it.

  
“I think this is the easiest time I have had riding anything,” she commented, thinking back to akapi in her town that would buck and dart off when startled. The old trainer was correct, the maeonia was listening to the reigns and verbal commands from the elf. She was surprised to say the least.

  
“There is a reason maeonia are the mount of choice for war,” Aeson responded as they watched the duo move around the clearing. “Their intelligence is frightening sometimes, and it must be respected do not forget that. Though I am afraid we don’t have much time to delve into anymore training, I believe Klaus convoy will be coming by soon. They will not be happy to see you traveling with a maeonia.”

  
She nodded, looking over at Trajan who was already standing and moving towards the trail. She gently directed the maeonia to the tree line, before dismounting and sending it into the trees. The tack could be left on maeonia for periods of time apparently according to Aeson.

  
They walked back to Aesons home silently. Once they arrived Trajan collected their packs.

  
“You should give your maeonia a name.”

  
“I haven't’ thought about it much,” She responded looking into the trees and saw it lounging on a large branch watching them idly.

  
“Naming it will strengthen the bond, also please know this is a safe place if you have a need, please return again so we can continue training,” Aeson extended their arm and she clasped it pulling them in and patted them on the back.

  
“Thank you Aeson, I was not expecting to find an ally.”

  
The older Ismenian nodded, a soft smile gracing their wrinkled visage. They turned to Trajan.

 

“Not all Ismenians are loyal to the Pantheon still as you have seen, keep your senses keen and whiskers clean whelp.”

  
“I will do my best Aeson, thank you for your hospitality we will return the favor someday.”

  
They nodded before speaking, “Now leave quickly before Klaus and his convoy come,” Aeson walked them to the edge of the forest and helped attach their packs to the saddle straps on the maeonia. Vesonia turned to old riding master once they were prepared to leave.

  
“I think I have a name.”

  
“Oh?”

  
“Pan.”

  
“Very good, the protector, fitting,” Aeson mused as they looked at the maeonia watching its rider closely. “Have safe travels my friends, may the gods watch over you.”

  
Vesonia hauled herself into the saddle, Pan shifting at the weight before Trajan pulled themselves up behind her, using the secondary set of stirrups offered by their gracious host. Pan looked back at the extra weight growling, She patted its neck and the animal huffed before obliging them and moving into the forest and going north.

  
The maeonia moved quickly, the pair saw Klaus convoy through the trees on the narrow road. Slowly moving down the hills, the convoy was packed up and leaving. Klaus was surveying the road, and Trajan realized Klaus was searching for them as the brown Ismenians gaze swept into the trees.

  
“I think we need to move,” they pointed at the convoy and she nodded as Ismenian investigated the trees. She squeezed hard and Pan let out a small snarl before darting forward on the forest floor, dodging and weaving through the familiar trees with ease.

  
The dark beast continued to move deep into the forest, and once again the pair were surrounded by monstrous hanging trees, but this time accompanied by a black maeonia and a growing sense of hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, thank you again for reading! Please leave comments, they always help. I am looking for beta readers for new chapters please let me know if you are interested.  
> All Chapter being edited in rounds to ensure they are written correctly. This is my first time posting a major story so any tips would be greatly appreciated!  
> Please feel free to join the discord to get access to new content and artwork: https://discord.gg/rXj43Ap


	4. Running Adjustments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group takes an unexpected break.

Chapter Four: Running Adjustments

Ten days had passed since Vesonia had acquired Pan, and neither she nor Trajan had adjusted to their new traveling companion. While Pan made traveling go faster, traveling with a maeonia required some adjustments. The beast was often ornery and volatile making day to day existence challenging. Despite imprinting, as Trajan so helpfully put it, it was still a wild animal and a predator and behaved as such. She was genuinely concerned they would never have enough supplies to prevent the predator from wondering off and killing someone when it got hungry.

  
She sighed, head rolling back against the tree she rested against. The maeonia in question lurked in the tree above her as she attempted to rest. She understood Pan was being protective and trying to help but having a heavy breathing beast clinging to precariously thin tree limbs above her was not inspiring a sense of comfort. The black animal trilled happily as the branch groaned under its bulk as it looked down at its master.

  
They had exited the forest in the far north, and re crossed the river to head for the west citadel in hopes of it being reclaimable with seals hidden within its vault. Vesonia was grateful to be out of the gnarled grasp of the Epiphanes, the trees always felt like they were going to consumer her thoughts and catch the her in a loop, lost to time. Along with the lingering knowledge more titans and feral dragons may be lurking in the monstrous trees, preying upon unsuspecting travelers. A problem that was going to have to be addressed eventually. The ranger huffed, another thing to add to the list of rapidly growing problems. Vesonia missed her idle travels in Aprici, no pressure beyond the need to survive and simply exist in the harsh north. No discussions of gods and titans, and the concern of tyrannical rulers and decaying states. Things had become so complicated in such a short span of time. Any semblance of normalcy had vanished, as if it was ever there in the first place she thought glumly.

  
The Trio had stopped to take a break, Trajan fast asleep leaning against the tree. She, unwilling to disrupt her traveling companion decided to camp for the day. Not like there was a rush at this point they had no leads and were just wandering, she thought as she made circles in the dirt near her feet. Incoherent patterns were scattered around her foot, her dark leather boots a muddled color of the red clay and dirt that dominated the prairie, marking the start of the vast great plains of Adica. Once a lush extension of the Epiphanes but decimated to war. A monument to the perseverance of nature and Gaia herself in tandem with Phusis as the land recovered, small smatterings of trees scattered across the land, hundreds of years in the making. The elf was unsure if the land could have ever fully recovered without the influence of the goddess, her mind thinking back to the elaborate tales from her grandmother of the bounty Phusis and Gaia in tandem given to the lands to repair what was damaged during the great war. Giving and taking life so the land may flourish.

  
Vesonia was snapped from her musings as the saplings branch finally began to splinter under the Maeonia. She glanced back up at the creature. Pan was rapidly becoming antsy without trees to hide in, and she was forced to move to a wooded area so the maeonia could perch on the small trees. The predator was too large for these trees however, as the elf watched the tree above her bow with the weight of it. The ranger frowned.

  
“Pan get down the trees are too small for you to be doing that,” She called up to her companion, who stared back down and let out a chirp. Another oddity she had noticed, she had never heard a maeonia chirp before but the again she usually didn’t stay this close to them. Pan leapt down from the tree landing gracefully next to her. Its long tail swatting the sleeping Ismenian startling Trajan awake, who had been dozing on the other side. The Ismenian shot up, falling too their side and caught themselves before they face planted into the dirt.

  
Trajan glanced irritably at her and their new companion before settling themselves against the tree again, using their flexible neck to tuck their snout into their mane, allowing for their horns to rest comfortably against the tree, with a long sigh that ruffled their mane they fell back asleep. Pan watched the dragon for a moment before walking up to Vesonia nudging her arm and shoving its large head against her side, requesting attention. The elf obliged the large animal, scratching behind its ears in one of the few spots the fur was not course. Pan settled next to her, large frame providing a good space to lean, she looped her arm around the maeonias neck, resting her head on it.

  
The trio had been moving slowly, Pan unwilling to carry Trajan for extending periods time. Often requiring them to walk long portions during the day unless she was able to get the grand beast to yield, which wasn’t often. Aeson lesson was pitifully short, and wholly inadequate for what they needed Pan to do, the ranger was running blind with a dangerous beast on her heel. Despite bonding with the black beast, it only tolerated being ridden for short periods before attempting to climb trees and in general terrorize the tired elf.

  
Vesonia sighed, briefly closing her eyes as the early evening rolled in, the sun preparing to set in the next hour. Her neck, that she thought had healed, was throbbing. It had been over two weeks since she was attacked by the Deserian and the wound had mostly healed, however she couldn’t shake a lingering feeling that something else was not right about the wound. There were still small portions, that despite multiple days of treatment, had refused to fully close and still bled occasionally. The elf feared the cut was infected despite the treatments. She had ignored the pain while in Phares, but as time progressed it grew and eventually Trajan had taken notice when they spotted her cleaning the injury. She was forced to admit it was still causing trouble, and the Ismenian made herbalist began treatment, with varying degrees of success.

  
Leaning forward she unwound the binding around her neck, feeling the wound under her seal, noticing the swollen red edges around one of the large punctures that was still healing. Pan lifted their head, looking at the wound leaning in to sniff the injury. Instinctively she pulled back, but Pan followed nosing the wound before snorting and looking up at her. The animal chittered in short bursts before snorting when she didn’t respond, hot air rushing past before it moved to rest its head on is front paws, its black tail wrapping around the tree. The appearance of the maeonia was that of a pouting child, upset that their voice wasn’t being heard. Vesonia raised an eyebrow at the action but opted not to engage with an animal that was four times her size.

  
She heard the tired Ismenian grumble at the intrusion of the tail, but her attention was drawn back to the animal next to her. Pan was still watching, it seemed the beast understood something that the elf was overlooking. She ran a hand through its mane, before leaning against the animal once again. Her unbound neck felt nice in the breeze, recently it had felt burning hot and Vesonia feared she had a fever.

  
Trajan had not commented, but she had a feeling they smelled the infection, coupled by the fact that they had been insistent on tending to the wound in the past day or so. She closed her eyes as a wave of vertigo hit her, the claw mark beginning to throb once again. Vesonias head fell, resting on its shoulder, face pressing into the black course top coat. She knew that if she buried her hand in deep enough the soft down insulation would be there, before she lost focus and fell asleep.

  
Trajan sat up, now fully awake due to the intrusion of the maeonia, swatting at the tail curled over them moving to stand. The tail reluctantly detached long enough to allow them free themselves before immediately curling over the spot where they had been. They turned to look at Vesonia, surprised to see the elf had, or at least appeared to be sleeping against her new companion. Her forehead had a thin sheen of sweat, unsurprising they thought. Pan had sensed it first, but the wound on her neck was badly infected. Trajan had done their best to treat it but was reluctant to use a stronger dose of antiseptic to cleanse the wound in fear of setting the elf off. It appeared they didn’t have a choice now as they approached, feeling that her forehead was almost scalding to the touch. The maeonia looked up at the dragon but did not intervene.

  
Trajan was grateful, unwilling to tangle with the beast today. Elves while able to heal well, often suffered when succumbing to illness and infection. Fragile beings, the dragon snorted. A soft thrum came deep from their throat, as they thought of a game plan to help the ranger. The dragon looked to the tack bag, resting a few feet from the maeonia.

  
They were thankful Vesonia had the foresight to remove the tack from Pan, allowing for them to easily get her blanket and cover the sick elf. They didn’t want to struggle with the ornery beast over a blanket, which they had a feeling would happen. Pan was not shy with its distaste of the white Ismenian. She didn’t stir as Trajan placed the blanket around her. However her mount did, the beast sniffed the blanket before looking at the Ismenian with a chirp.

  
They were unhappy she had hidden the injury initially; the cuts were hidden under the strap holding the seal and Trajan had attributed the lingering scent of blood clinging to the elf to her still healing arm. While in Phares they had noticed the injury, but at the time it had appeared to be healing. The dragon understood they have only known each other for two weeks, but addressing injuries was serious and she knew they were able too help it heal faster. Stubborn independence will only get someone so far before they fall. Coeus’s wisdom echoing in their mind.

  
Trajan had been trained in herbalism by the elder Ismenian, just in case they ever needed to treat a serious injury or something major happened. It was a skill they were grateful for. There were several times their knowledge of plants had saved them, and others who they had met on their search for seals.

  
The elf in question groaned quietly, curling deeper into the blanket and her mounts side. Pan looked at their master, chittering in their strange language before looking back to Trajan expectantly.  
“What do you expect me to do something?”

  
The animal continued to stare at them before looking pointedly at the elf. The dragon scratched their left horn in response earning a short snort and flash of teeth.

  
“I will take that a yes then,” and slowly approached. Thankfully Pan seemed amicable to the Ismenians presence today, snarls notwithstanding. Some days it was, other days the Ismenian counted their claws and toes ensuring that they weren’t missing a limb.

  
The elf didn’t stir as they leaned down next to her, craning their long neck to get a view at her. The seal tightly clasped around her neck obstructed their view. The dragon took a deep breath before moving to unclasp the pendant, Vesonias head lolling to side at the movement, not strength left in the motion. If the goddess contained within noticed, she didn’t react to being removed from her seal holder. They tucked the seal safely away in a pocket on her cloak. Trajan was unsure of Nyx, the goddess was distant and silent, unwilling to share information unless she had a clear benefit from doing so. It was odd to the Ismenian, Hemera was not a regular orator, but still had regular conversations and lessons with them. Honest and true to the point as the sun rises and sets each day. There was more to pick apart in the tension between the opposing goddesses, but it was not a pressing issue at the current time to Trajan. Their companion’s health took priority, if only to ensure Klaus did not gain any ground on them. There was a sinking suspicion that they were being pursued, but it had yet to be proven.

  
Finally, they inspected the injury. The cut was inflamed, and the pungent odor of infection radiated from it. Their noise wrinkled in distaste. It appeared having the seal constantly rubbing at the wound had prevented it from properly scabbing over and healing, allowing for the infection to set in. Why had the experience ranger opted to leave the seal on while this was trying to heal after they left Phares? They couldn’t discern any possible benefit, beyond potential pressure from Nyx’s vocal dislike of pockets.

  
They gently probed the wound, thankful nothing was oozing asides from blood. The cut was large, the claws of Deserians were massive and as a result it had left a finger length cut in her neck. The injury didn’t appear particularly deep, but the problem was the fact it was so long. It was clear that when the creature was shoved off the elf the claw had dug in and superficially ripped the skin and managed pushed the strap of the pendant out of the way in the process.

  
They rebandaged the wound to protect it from the elements, leaving the pendant tucked in her pocket for the time being. Nothing could be done until it could be cleaned properly. She couldn’t place the seal back on until her neck was fully healed, Trajan would have that discussion with her after the fever was addressed. Nyx be damned.

  
They moved to the saddle bags and began to dig through their supplies. Trajan was looking for a herb, Yarrow buds and root, they had sworn they had bought some at the market in Phares. Apparently, they had purchased more tea tree leaves mistakenly, what they had been using to fight the infection but not good for fevers.

  
The striped dragon cursed silently and looked at the area surrounding them. They were doubtful the plant would be found in the surrounding prairie and occasional pockets of trees. The plant liked to grow by water sources, off sandy banks not the hard-dry clay surrounding them. They would need to find a stream or river to get the herb. They knew there were no towns within walking distance, Trajan was stumped. They couldn’t leave Vesonia in her current state alone, a maeonia really didn’t count since the most it did was serve as a deterrent, leaving the elf vulnerable if it moved to attack anyone. Anyone willing to try and rob or attack a traveler with the hulking predators was mad or stupid. Trajan did not trust the maeonia to protect her either, thinking back to its nasty temper, imprinted or not it was dangerous.

  
They looked back at the elf, she was trembling slightly, and Pan curled more tightly around her. The animal had shifted, with its secondary arms draped over the elf holding her close to its chest, holding the blanket in place to prevent it from falling off in the breeze drifting through.

  
“Okay I need to trust you to watch after her,” the animal looked at the dragon.

  
Trajan sighed running a hand down their snout, over the dyed blue band on their muzzle. Pan stared for a moment before resting their head on their front paws, its large eyes closing while the secondary pair stared down the Ismenian, the gold eyes piercing. The secondary eyes on maeonia were mostly vestigial but still functional. They could have yelled in frustration at the action, they didn’t want to leave the elf alone, but they knew she needed the herb. A small growl slipped out from the dragon, without reaction from the maeonia as its secondary eyes slipped shut hiding away its piercing gaze. Pans ears were still cocked forward, indicating it was still paying to the Ismenian.

  
The animal chittered with its eyes closed, to Trajan it sounded like a form of a long-lost draconic language, but they couldn’t understand it. However, for all they knew it was just random noises from a wild animal. They sighed, turning away from the animal and their sick companion and pulled out a map.

  
While the map didn’t show a definitive river, they had a feeling a water source was near by due to the volume of trees in the area, small as they may be, and the one large patch they had passed through but deemed too closed off for a quick escape if need be. Pan was not happy about them skipping over the area of dense pines. Trajan stood up, stretching their neck out, the joints popping, before grabbing their daggers and heading off in search of water. They were going to have to trust Pan to protect its master in her fragile state. The Ismenian shuddered, today was going to be a terrible day, goddesses watch over them. The world knew they needed it, Hemera lingering at the edge of their mind as if she wished to speak. Yet she remained silent, unimposing in the situation. The sun goddess had remained oddly silent since the altercation with Nyx, Trajan was unsure if it was from a desire to avoid conflict, or if a deeper confrontation had occurred in that moment that would not be worked out soon. The two existed interchangeably, neither could exist without the other. Which was ironic considering Hemera originated from Nyx, yet she needed Hemera to pull the sun from dusk for her to pull the moon into night. The two existed in tandem.

  
Trajan wandered out of the small patch of cherry woods, hoping the stream would be nearby, but the only thing they found was a dried-up stream bed from the unusually dry wet season. Despite being early fall, when it usually rained daily in Adica, in the last month they hadn’t seen a single drop of rain. Adica had large wells of spring water, so missing a few weeks of rain wasn’t a big deal but Trajan knew that over time it could compound and lead to a devastating drought.

  
They looked at the dried-up stream, and the knurled tree roots growing out into it as small saplings searched for the water needed to grow. Perhaps following it would lead to water, it was worth a try the Ismenian decided and dropped down into the dried dirt. The stream winded down a small hill, and away from the trees hiding their companions. They didn’t want to wander too far, but the promise of water and potential herbs pushed them onward.

  
The prairie around them was blissfully empty, no people or animals in sight. The last thing the Ismenian wanted to deal with now was a fight, as they walked down the dry bed. The hill had sloped down into a large open space, and the dragon saw the large lake resting down in the center. Small clusters of trees surrounded the water, obscuring the sight of the lake. Large swaths of wild flowers were scattered everywhere, creating an open expanse of brilliant yellows, orange, purples and blues. Trajan frowned at the lack of the white flowers they sought.

  
They slowly approached the water, wading through the wild flowers inspecting the plants, pollen being kicked up with each step. They heard the gentle sound of water lapping against the sand, and several frogs resting around the edge of the lake. However, aside from a few small animals nothing else appeared to be present, which was mildly surprising to the Ismenian. They were used to seeing even just small predators, birds or even deer and wild akapi by large bodies of water.

  
The lake itself appeared larger as Trajan got closer. They were pleased to see sand, and loose soil, which Yarrows preferred to grow in. The edge of the beach was devoid of flowers however, much to their dismay. Yarrow was a common plant, it should have been there. They stroked a whisker idly as they wondered what happened to the plants. Someone else had to have come through and harvested them, as they saw the ground was slightly upturned, fresh soil and sand exposed. Someone or something had clearly been rooting up plants in the area, and recently.

  
The Ismenian thought to any animals that might have been the culprit. Several kinds of animals were known to dig up plants, all of them herbivores. Whatever had been digging, had left several large gouges in the ground in its search for food. Suddenly the empty lake meant sense, the lack of animals may have been due to the presence of the animal. They had a feeling they knew what was here, and a snort behind them confirmed their fears.

  
Trajan turned around and spotted it, not that the beast could hide well as it was. A hulking animal stood not 30 feet away. The herbivore seemed uncaring or unaware of the presence of the dragon, due to its sheer size.

  
An Adica urustorn, a strange animal with long horns protruding from behind its short ears and stood 15 feet at its shoulder. The animal had a short snout and proportionally short neck, with tall shoulders and long front legs. In comparison to their hind legs, while heavily muscled, were much shorter than the front and created a lumbering animal. Moss grew on its back, creating a mute green grey coloring that allowed the animal to blend in with the myriad of plants littered around the water’s edge. It grazed slowly, eating grass shoots and flowers facing away from the Ismenian. The beast grunted, letting out a short bellow before digging its horns into the ground to uproot more plants.

  
The dragon stood quietly watching the animal and noted the flowers it was eating looked suspiciously like the herbal flower they needed. Of course, a giant four-ton beast would, today did not seem to want to go well.

  
The young dragon had a choice, wait for the animal to leave or try and get to the untouched flowers across the lake without being noticed. The Ismenian was genuinely concerned they would be charged by the large armored creature, especially since the herbivores were notorious for being aggressive. Many warnings from their paranoid mentor and parental figure running through their head as they watched the moss-covered mass graze.

  
They slowly took a step backwards, stopping when the animal shifted slightly, but it continued to graze. As soon as it seemed safe Trajan turned and started taking quiet steps around the water, staying in the sand to reduce noise. They cringed as sand got into their shin guards with each step. As soon as they felt far enough away they began to look for the herb once again.

  
Trajan noticed the beast had made its way around the lake it seemed and had thoroughly cleaned out any of the plants they needed. At least around them, the dragon glanced across the lake, trying to see if the trail of carnage had an end and it did. By the very animal they were trying their hardest to avoid.

 

“Son of a bitch.”

  
The animal looked up, eyes locking with the dragon. Then an idea struck Trajan, granted not the smartest idea but an idea none the less. All they needed to do was get a few plants and prevent the urustorn from eating said plants. How hard could that be?

  
With that in mind the Ismenian stood to their full height, partially balancing on their toes and howled.

  
Vesonia stirred, as in the distant fields from their camp the echoing howls of an Ismenian could be heard. In the back of her feverish brain she prayed it was Trajan, and not a random dragon passing through. The elf shifted slightly, prompting a reaction from the maeonia she was resting on. Pan turned and looked at her, seemingly concerned at the movement as she felt the claws resting on her shoulder flex for a moment before the beast returned to resting.

  
She looked up at the tree above them, noting she had only fallen asleep for less than an hour but realized there was a distinct lack of a certain striped dragon. She looked around the camp, noticing a small fire pit had been built but lacked a fire and that the saddle bags had been dug through. Assuming it was Trajan that rummaged through the bag, she let her head fall back against Pans side. Her vision swirling into a homogenous blur, with small spattering’s of color as it refocused momentarily.

  
She thought back to the past few weeks, and how chaotic it had been. While things had never really been normal since her exile, it had never been this messy. Vesonia wondered were it had all gone wrong, and she thought to her decision to travel south as being the focal point of her mistakes.

  
Initially the decision had come from boredom, and the need to learn more about the world at the urging of Nyx. Panathean seemed like the logical choice since it was easily accessible by boat and she had already been wandering the coast at that time. She had bartered passage on a large cargo ship easily enough. A grueling two-week long journey punctuated by a severe storm that almost sunk the ship announced her arrival to Panathean. She wasn’t keen on repeating the experience.

  
Unknowingly she had wandered close to the capitol after disembarking, the only barrier being a massive mountain range. Later, the ranger came to recognize that the mountains were the only thing that had saved her from being captured. Erebus at the time was aware the goddess was close, and she had dodged countless convoys and search parties.

  
The elf had successfully made it to the southern tip of the continent by sheer luck, and it took well over a year of dodging Nero by traveling in the harsh mountains. As a rule, she had avoided settlements, many were not open to rangers as it was. Traveling elves were casted in suspicion and rejected entrance, even if she had wanted too she wouldn’t have been able to visit them.

  
Her luck ended when she hit the Dragons Gate Bridge, which had been completely blocked by the Panthean Army. When the elf was spotted attempting to by pass the roadblock, they attempted to arrest her. When they couldn’t the captain of the team sent a small group of deserians after her to hunt her down. At that time, they still did not realize who she was, there were many contradicting stories about the first seal holder’s appearance were circulating. Most assumed she was dead, or even that the new first seal holder was an Ismenian or halfing. Many stories of exaggerated features, with haggard scars, stemming from the news that Canis had been raided in search of the first seal. When she was finally tracked down for the first time, while she was hiding in a traveling group of halfing merchants, she was properly recognized. Vesonia was grateful Deserians are notorious for their lack of intelligence, because the few pursuing her decided to pursue the bounty instead of reporting her appearance to Nero.

  
They had pursued her all the way into the Epiphanes and here she was, traveling with an Ismenian and a wild forest maeonia. She shouldn’t have left her northern home.

  
For the long eight years after Canis was attacked, she had stayed on the continent of Aprici. It was familiar, and easy to survive there after spending years learning the necessary survival skills from the elders. Ismenians were not forgiving, and despite being an elf, she was raised as if she was a whelping, and had the same expectations placed on her.

  
To survive it required cooperation from the whole community, and that meant everyone needed to be prepared and have the necessary skills to live in the harsh northern conditions. Winters were often long, and the village was isolated for months at a time. There was no room for mistakes.

  
The ranger had traveled as far north west as the continent would allow, visiting ruins she had heard of only in stories. Traveling in Aprici was slow, mostly due to constant storms and turbulent weather and the needs of her pack animal.

  
Upon exile her grandmother had gifted her an Akapi, which made carrying the supplies she was given easy to transport but it also placed an additional burden. When she had decided to travel south, the akapi ended up being traded so she could have safe passage into Panathean, one less problem in Vesonias mind. Akapi required lots of feed, and she had to make frequent stops to barter goods and leather to get it. It often meant she was stuck in one area for a few months at a time, trading, sometimes staying in small communities for a few weeks. When she had her Akapi the ranger had the luxury of making larger, more complex camps that were suitable for living in for weeks, not days or overnight. Hell, she even had a nice tent and tarp that made living in the wilds easier.

  
It was difficult time, but the elf enjoyed the quiet of the wilderness. In her travels, Nyx had taken it upon herself to share some knowledge and history, but Vesonia was reluctant to use the seal after what had happened with Orthrus and her resulting exile. Despite the goddess prodding, she remained firm in her refusal to access the power.

  
Adica felt like one long summer to the cold hardened elf, even the continents slow transition into fall it was unseasonably hot to her. But then again, her fever may have been influencing how warm she perceived the place to be currently. She shifted, dislodging the blanket on her, exposing her shoulders to the breeze and cooling her over heated skin.

  
She missed her grandmother in moments like this, the old elf always knew what to do. She hadn’t felt this sick since she was a young child, coming down with a passing illness brought by a traveler. It brought back a sense of nostalgia, being kept away in their small cottage bundled in hides next to the fire while her elder prepared tea to help combat her illness. Sharp and bitter, Vesonia remembered, but the tea had the sweetest aroma.

  
She couldn’t believe she missed bitter tea, the fever must have been getting to her. The elf closed her eyes. The ranger knew she could not linger on these thoughts, she had long resigned herself to the fact she would never see them again.

  
The rangers mind drifted back to her companion. Where the hell was Trajan? At least an hour had passed since she had woken up, and the sun was beginning to fall behind the mountains in the distance. She was beginning to become concerned. Beyond the howl that had woken her up, nothing else had given her any indication the dragon was in the area.

  
Hopefully they weren’t doing anything stupid.

  
As if to punctuate that thought, Pans head shot up and the animal stared at the start of the tree line. The white Ismenian stumbled through the trees, looking haggard. Their mane was in disarray with dirt and twigs stuck in it, and their feathering on their whiskers and horns were a messy and jumbled mess of grass and dirt. The white Ismenian was now a rusty red from the clay they had appeared to tumble in.

  
Vesonia sat up slightly, watching them stumble into the camp carrying three flowers, with the roots still attached.

 

“What in the spirits did you do?”

  
“Getting herbs.”

  
The dragon sat down in a heap, laying the plants by the rocks. Seemingly unwilling to discuss their adventure. They began to pluck strands of grass, and twigs from their mane methodically grooming themselves. The ranger eyed them harshly, what had even happened to dishevel the normally neat dragon? They glanced at her for a moment before going back to cleaning up. The pulled their shin guards off, almost making a show of dumping the sand that had collected in the modified boots. The dragon however did not put them back on, and instead leaned back and shook out the knurled parts of their feathering. The elf was grateful they were far away, as they watched sand and plant matter fly in all directions.

  
“I didn’t get a certain herb that we needed while in Phares, so I had to go look for it. I uhh, ran into an urustorn and we argued over who got the plants.”

  
“You argued with a giant animal?”

  
“Yeah, I think I won since I have what I need,” They pointed to the uprooted plants that had a sheen of salvia on them.

  
Vesonia sighed, too exhausted to understand the situation the Ismenian was just in. She nodded and leaned back against her mount, tucking her blanket back up over her shoulders as the evening chill began to settle in. Pans naturally high body temperature was a blessing at that moment. Her eyes fell shut, exhaustion taking over as she listened to the dragon move around the camp before sleep overtook her again.

  
Trajan watched the elf fall asleep, grateful nothing had happened during their disagreement with the giant beast. After they had howled the animal charged them, but since they were on the opposite side of the lake the animal had to work to get to them. The Ismenian took advantage of that, somehow managing to get to the plants but in their haste had forgotten, things can and do turn around.  
They narrowly avoided being impaled on the beast’s long horns and was thrown into a bush 20 feet away when the urustorn shook its head to dislodge the clinging dragon. Still somehow, they managed to keep a grip on the plants as they struggled out of the shrubbery. The animal was already charging them again as they got to their feet and Trajan panicked.

  
They placed the plants in their teeth and took off on all fours away from the herbivore thankfully faster than the charging animal. The Ismenian ran up the hill kicking up dirt the whole way, before pausing at the top to look back. The urustorn was standing at the base of the hill bellowing, and they knew it was a warning not to return to the lake. Now they were picking grass out of their mane with a slightly bruised back that begun to ache. Not a dignifying afternoon.

  
It worked, barely. They had the plant they needed, and their companions were exactly where they had left them.

  
They stood up and began the process of starting a fire and collecting water from a large water skin on the saddle. Trajan began to prep the antiseptic mixture they had been using but added more tea tree and a small splash of alcohol they kept after it was ready. Hopefully this would be enough to kill anything in the wound and help it heal. Since she wasn’t fully awake they took the opportunity to treat it with the intensity the infected injury needed.

  
The water took time to boil, and they watched as the water bubbled slowly. The tea yarrow created required a slow steady heating of the plants, meaning it would be a bit before it was ready. Their companion was fast asleep letting out an occasional snore.

  
Soon the only light source came from the small fire, the evening chill finally settling in for the night. The elf curled closer in to Pan, shivering slightly and Trajan decided she needed another blanket. While their thick coat kept them warm in the weather, Vesonia had no such security blanket. The mixture, and tea they were preparing was still not ready. They retrieved their cloak, since the ranger only carried one blanket and was already wrapped in her own cloak, they opted to draped the black fabric over the elf. Her shivering dissipated after a few minutes and Pan chittered appreciatively.  
The mixture of tea tree and other herbs was ready before the tea, but the elf would need to be awake for that. Trajan took advantage of her exhaustion to treat her neck with a stronger dose.

  
They brought the mixture over, letting the curious predator sniff the mixture before kneeling next to their companion. Vesonia cracked an eye open for a moment, looking at them causing them to pause. She stared, but they could tell she wasn’t coherent when she spoke, eyes glossy.

  
“Io?”

  
Trajan didn’t respond merely tipping her chin up to look at the cut. At some point she had undone the bandaging causing the dragon to cluck their tongue. The elf didn’t react to the noise, just lazily staring at the moonlight filtering through the leaves. However, she did flinch when the mixture was applied.

  
Vesonias skin burned as the paste cleansed the wound thoroughly.

  
“Io?” she repeated louder, and however the Ismenian ignored her and continued the treatment, gently rubbing it into the cut and wrapping the bandage. The feverish elf lifted a hand to swat them away, trying to shoo them away.

  
“Io, what? Why are you here?”

  
Great she thought they were someone else. Trajan frowned, their ears pinning back as they realized Vesonias fever was most likely worsening. They went back to the fire to check and see if the tea was ready. They idly heard the ranger shifting behind them, choosing to ignore it in favor of stirring the slowly bubbling water and leaves. When they finally turned around, they realized she had kicked off her blankets and was sitting up rubbing at the bandage around her neck. Both of her eyes were closed.

  
Looking back at the tea, Trajan decided to just give it to her now. Gently tapping the elf on the shoulder, causing her to look over at them.  
“Drink this.”

  
The elf took the cup slowly, blinking down at the tea then looking at the dragon. They gestured for her to drink, and the she slowly raised the cup. She gagged when the first sip hit her tongue.  
“Fuck this is bitter,” she glared up at Trajan, still dazed but slightly more coherent, and continued to sip the tea none the less.

  
The tea seemed to help, as they watched her lean against the maeonia again once she finished the cup. Still looking around confused, before pulling her blanket back over her shoulders. At least she was coherent enough to do that, Trajan thought but continued monitoring her until she fell asleep again.

  
They woke her up periodically through the night to drink the tea, regularly checking her temperature which had gradually began to drop. This continued until they were satisfied it was safe to leave her to heal.

  
In the morning Vesonia stirred, her neck was still aching but when she pressed a hand to the bandage it wasn’t hot to the touch so whatever the Ismenian had done overnight had helped. She still felt dizzy, she brushed it off assuming it was from the lingering infection her body was fighting. She looked at her traveling companion, who was still fast asleep propped up against the tree next to Pan.  
She idly remembered continually being awoken throughout the night, the tea still leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. The dragon looked tired, likely from staying up most of the night. The heat from the fire was welcome as it burned, embers rising into small flames as the remaining log burned away. It was a chilly morning, and the ranger hoped that it meant colder weather was coming.

  
The sky was overcast, heavy clouds hung above her with the promise of long awaited rain. Vesonia was snapped out of her musings by a pang of hunger, in her feverish state she had not eaten anything. The elf moved to rummage through the saddle bags, ignoring the wave of dizziness that hit her at the movement. She retrieved an apple and sat back down to watch her companion’s morning routine.

  
Pan had moved as soon as she had left her spot, stretching. The maeonia yawned in an intimidating display of fangs. Shaking out the fur that had been mated down from laying on the ground for so long. The animal paid little attention to its master and took off into the trees. She could follow its path of terror by the sight of trees bending out of sight. Pan would often leave in the morning to go hunting, and she had found it easier to remove the tack before this after a saddle bag was shredded by an angry fox it had caught.

  
Not even ten minutes later the maeonia returned, with another small fox in its mouth. How why the animal constantly sought after the small carnivore was unknown to her, just that Pan preferred eating them. Maybe there was just an abundant fox population, she wasn’t sure. The beast would refuse the opportunity to hunt deer, which they saw often while traveling. The maeonia had even turned up the chance to hunt rabbits, and refused dried meats offered by Trajan. She felt that was more out of dislike for the Ismenian, than a dislike of the meat, it ate what she offered. She just didn’t mention it to the dragon when asked.

  
Vesonia turned away as the beast tore into its kill. She pointedly ignoring the sound of bones being crushed, in favor of mapping out their path to the West Citadel. They needed to stop to refill their water skin, which had been depleted last night, and she was sure Pan needed a good drink and opportunity to kill something larger than a fox. From what she remembered last night Trajan had ran into something big, and hopefully Pan was up for a hunt with her. Having some supplies to barter with would be nice, and she knew a large animal would give her plenty to barter with.

  
As she observed the map, it was a straight shot to the Citadel, mountains non-withstanding. However, the journey would take a month or more at their current rate of travel, maybe even longer if they got wind of any seals on the way there.

  
To top it off, they would be traveling in the open.

  
Adica, while known for the Epiphanes sprawling forest, it housed a large lush plane that stretched all the way to the far off (INSERT NAME) mountains in the west of continent. Roads were abundant; however, it was apparent that Adica had a heavy presence of the Panthean Army, at least the eastern portion, and they had agreed it was best to travel off the roads. Glancing over at the maeonia, she had a feeling the off roading served Pan just fine.

  
Over the past two weeks she had come to discover Pan merely tolerated the presence of Trajan, and mostly likely was compliant with Aeson because they had seen the old Ismenian on their late-night walks. The group couldn’t travel anywhere where there was a risk of interacting with strangers and couldn’t hide the big predator. She genuinely feared the maeonia would kill someone unprovoked, and her dragon companion agreed. The maeonia had yet to try and harm her since their duel, but Pan had snapped at the Ismenian several times. She wouldn’t call the beasts behavior affectionate, but attentive, Pan did not care what she did, as long as she didn’t wander to far. Trajan also helpfully informed her that the maeonia was a male, which didn’t really explain much, the animal was still a mystery to her.

  
She lifted her hand to her neck, feeling the bandage as the cut ached. She had a feeling Trajan had treated her neck during the evening but couldn’t properly remember. She did remember dreaming about Io, which unsettled her. The ranger knew she needed to let go of what her life was in Canis, she resolved never to return. There was too much of a risk of Nero sending another raid party to the small village if she returned.

  
She glanced over at the sleeping dragon, before looking back to Pan. The dragon was most likely down for the count, and she wanted to hunt the beast by lake.

  
She waved at Pan who looked up from his kill, the animal trotted over to her before sitting down. The ranger began the long process of securing the maeonias tack, ensuring her bow and sword were strapped in to the saddle securely.

  
“Let’s go hunting,” she said as she patted his neck, before pulling herself onto Pans back and spurring him into a steady trot. She followed the path Trajan had stumbled in from and the maeonia was sniffing the air as it seemingly understood the statement.

  
Pan moved quickly, stopping occasionally to sniff a tree before leaping down into a river bed, jarring the elf. The dark beast stopped for a moment leaning down and sniffing the ground, before taking off down the riverbank with Vesonia clinging on for dear life on his back.

  
They continued down the desolate clay riverbed, the beast kicking up dust with every step it took towards their unforeseen prize. Black fur caked grey from the covering of dust, as the maeonia paused to scratch a portion of the ground, before leaning down and sniffing around and moving further down the bed when an interesting scent caught its attention. In the distance the ranger could hear the faint sound of water, the gentle lull of waves breaking on a beach. Pan seemed to have already picked up on the water and seemed eager to approach in search of it picking his pace up to a slow run. Vesonia, weary of whatever had seemingly attacked Trajan, pulled hard on the reigns earning a snarl from the beast under her as the bridle bit into their snout.

  
Pan reared for a moment, looking back at his rider, sharp fangs flashing menacingly before yielding and slowing to a stop as they reached the edge of the lake. Small trees scattered around, and skids marks. Long skids marks, and a mangled bush intermingled with tufts of white and grey fur. Something had happened here, and Vesonia had a sinking suspicion it had something to do with her Ismenian companion as she observed the chunks of white fur.

  
Wisely the elf chose to remain mounted and directed Pan to slowly to investigate the ripped-up flowers, and bush. The maeonia paused at the main and largest skid, secondary claws flexing as his nose flared for a moment. The maeonias head shot up, legs shifting restlessly at whatever it smelled, Vesonia was grateful she strapped to the saddle of she would have been dislodged at the beast’s restless movement as she was lurched to the side, feeling her foot catch in the stirrup preventing her from sliding off. Pan, much to her surprise, began to chitter once again in slow bursts while following the skid trail, past the bush and towards the base of a hill. The maeonia seemed to be staring at something when it came to a halt, and Vesonia leaned around their neck to see a print. Plain as day, was the hand impression of an Ismenian, and further up more hand prints, she raised an eyebrow.

  
An Ismenian running on all fours is never a good thing, especially not with large three toed hoof prints following close behind, leaving deep impressions in the soil and trampling nearby plants.

  
A clear picture painted itself in the experienced rangers head, and it was not a pleasant one. But why was Trajan here in the first place? She looked around puzzled, needing an answer, aside from water Vesonia only idly remembered the dragon waving a plant in her fever ridden memory. A plant, the Ismenian got into an argument with an Urustorn for a plant. Vesonia wondered how the dragon has survived alone up to this point, there seemed to be no common sense bouncing around in their horned head. She was not familiar with plants, beyond knowing what will and won’t kill her, she needed to ask Trajan when she got back to camp. No plant was worth pissing with the large herbivores.

  
Pan knocked the elf out of her musings, when the beast suddenly lurched forward from their stationary position by the tracks, climbing up a medium sized tree not too far from the waters edge, She felt as their secondary claws dug into the wood and the maeonia craned its head backwards towards the water, watching. This was punctuated by the sound of water shifting, and the wet sound of large feet hitting sandy ground as something pulled itself out of the water.

  
Vesonia craned her neck around, and through the cover of leaves saw the Urustorn trudge out of the water, the beast letting out a low bellow. It had to have noticed Pan, as the animal appeared agitated, shaking its head and massive tusks. She felt the black beast beneath her tense, and dread filled her as the Urustorn wandered closer. When the tusked beast came to a stop by the tree looking around, Pan let go of the tree and pounced on its back. Claws dug in and pierced the animal thick hide.

  
The Urustorn let out a grating bleat, rearing back momentarily before swinging its head back attempting to hit the animal on its back. Vesonia clung on for dear life, the elf nothing more than a ragdoll as the two monstrous beasts fought. Pan seemed almost ecstatic during this, fangs out and their muzzle pulled into a wolfish grin as he bit down on its shoulder, seemingly entertained while playing with the irate animal.

  
The great beast seemed unable to throw Pan from its back, as the predator sunk its long claws deeper into it hide the more it struggled. However, Pan was unable to bring the great beast down with menial bites and scratches, retracting his claws he leaped off the beast. The enraged Urustorn followed the movement, charging as soon as the maeonias paws hit the ground.

  
The maeonia took off keeping a safe distance and trotted around the animal as it stomped the ground angrily. In the relative moment of calm Vesonia pulled her bow off the saddle, notching an arrow. The pair circled the Urustorn, Vesonia was waiting for an opening to shoot at it. Thankfully Pan was moving steadily, and she was able to steady her arm and aim. Right as the bow was pulled taught, the animal charged prompting her mount to shift into a run as Vesonia let go of the bow string the sinew snapping back into place in a sharp noise, the bow Aeson had gifted her was good quality. She watched as the flint arrow made contact, burying deep in its shoulder. The animals charge stopped mid step, the beast rearing up to take pressure of its injured front leg, the arrow shifting when it settled back on all fours.

  
“Damnit, I missed,” she muttered, as the beast still stood taking stock of its injury. The maeonia beneath her shifted, seemingly becoming more restless at the sight of the injured animals as he shifted towards the beast. “Pan,” she chided as the ranger pulled the reins in, but Maeonia continued its approach. The predator closed the circle around the Urustorn, prompting a swing of heavy horns that Pan danced away from. The pair moved away quickly, Pan’s strong footing pulling his rider out of danger quickly before turning to lunge at the animal’s good side. He grasped the large horn attempting to impale him and Vesonia watched in awe as the black beast dragged its preys head to side, struggling against the strength of the herbivore. Pans fang sunk into its neck before the animal had a chance to swipe with its good arm, long fangs sinking in and clamping down. The beast reared for a moment once again, back leg coming and landing a solid kick at Pans side but the maeonia did not budge.

  
The ranger snapped out her stupor notched another arrow, form her perch on Pan she had a clear shot at its head and quickly aimed. At such close range the arrow sunk deep, blood spattering back at the elf. Her mount did not shift as the animal went slack, still tightly clamped around its neck until the maeonia was satisfied that Vesonia was safe.

  
He let go with a short growl stepping away from the body. Vesonia loosened the stirrup straps and slid off the side of Pan, appraising their kill. A large bull, she scratched her arm, it appeared to large to strap to Pan to carry back to camp. They had jumped in to early before considering what they could do with the kill, but she received her answer when her mount moved forward and dug into the side of the animal with gusto. Vesonia sighed, covering her good eye and turning her head away, she still wasn’t used to how poor Pans table manners were.

  
“At least your having fun,” she muttered at the sound of happy chittering from the black beast. She finally glanced over, cringing at the mess he had mad in the sand, as her mount stood with its head shoved into the side of the beast feasting. She had a feeling he hadn’t been hunting enough to sustain himself, feeling restricted by the limited distance the maeonia attempted to keep from her. Might as well let Pan enjoy himself, they may not get many chances to get big kills like this.

  
The kill must have been a fresh relief, as she watched the dark animal move to lap at the water and rinse the blood from its face. Vesonia was still surprised to learn that not only her father Astraeus but also Nero had a maeonia mounts. She had thought it was nothing, but a fairy told by the elders, of the grand days when the village wasn’t so isolated from society. Utilizing what was proving to be a very dangerous animal, it didn’t sit well with the ranger. Using an Akapi or even a war horse was one thing, but a monstrous forest predator with a pension for eating people? It was such a huge risk, and Vesonia wasn’t sure if it was one she was willing to take. Pan punctuated the point by trotting over, battered and bruised from the heavy kick from the Urustorn. She frowned, gently resting her hand next to the gradually growing welt, she needed to train Pan better not to act so impulsively.

  
The lake was quiet, asides from the occasional frog, she glanced at the water before moving to grab the water skins and began to collect water. A thin layer of algae and duck weed clung to the surface of the water, and she moved it away several frogs and what she thought was a newt skittered away, and in the reflection of the water she noticed an Ismenian walking down the hill. She stood up and turned around, watching as Trajan approached the scene with a confused look. The dragon looked back and forth, stopping to briefly scent the area before spotting the fallen herbivore and approaching. Vesonia met them halfway.

  
“Nice to see you know how to keep yourself busy,” They stopped at the body, and appeared to be appraising the cavity Pan had left behind from feeding.

  
“Pan was getting restless and I don’t want to find out what he will do if I don’t provide enough entertainment for the damn thing.”

  
“Smart choice how is your neck feeling,” Trajan turned to her. Well that was tactful, Vesonia thought.

  
“It is still sore, but it seems like its finally healing,” to punctuate the statement she unwound the bandage around her neck, presenting the scratch to Trajan who inspected it carefully. The Ismenian leaned down to inspect it.

  
“It certainly looks better, and you don’t reek anymore but the seal will have to stay off until its fully healed or it might happen again.”

  
She nodded in understanding, hand coming up to rub around the wound as she took a step back. Nyx was not going to be pleased, but Vesonia did not want to risk getting sick again so soon into their journey. She turned back to Trajan.

  
“By the way why where you down here?”

  
The Ismenian gave a nervous chuckle, “I didn’t have the plant I needed, but unfortunately the Urustorn found them first but it seems like you took care of it.”

  
They both looked at the corpse, “Yeah I suppose I did, though Pan did all the work,” The animals head shot up at the mention of his name. The maeonia stopped for a moment to stare at Trajan, eyes narrowing before laying down next to its master and proceeded to lick its injured side. The Ismenian watched the motion, shifting back slightly and out of biting range of the beast. They glanced back up at Vesonia.

  
“You have a penchant for getting covered in blood,” Trajan commented, and the elf scowled before stomping back over to water to wash her face off. Traveling alone meant she could get as dirty as she wanted, but it seemed Trajan had problems with messy kills. She washed away the blood, before turning back to her companion.

  
“Is camp still set up?”

  
“Yeah, we need to head back and pack up to head out if you feel ready, I came down for water and to see if you found your way here, since you weren’t at camp when I woke up” Trajan responded, before sliding their vest and gauntlets off earning a raised eyebrow from the elf. “I need to get all this clay out of my fur or I am going to go insane,” They mentioned when they noticed Vesonias look.

The elf made a hum in an acknowledgement before turning to Pan and pushing the animal to stand. Trajan shucked off their trousers and jumped into the water as the ranger pulled herself into the saddle.

  
“We can clean up the kill after camps packed up for now I want to put out the fire, we have no idea where Klaus or any other caravans are, and I don’t want to get spotted.”

  
Trajan hummed in response, preoccupied with scrubbing out the dirt from their coat. The water around them turning a mucky red. Vesonia glanced at them to make sure they heard, noting the three large black stripes on their back and a tattoo hidden by their vest. A tattoo of the Pantheon crest on the right shoulder, the dragon curling into its wing in brilliant gold matching their feathering cutting a path through their thick coat as the tattoo was still healing. She would ask them about it later. The black stripe starting behind their horns ran the length of their back, all the stripes matched. Trajan certainly had consistent patterning she mused. Ismenian coat patterns were sporadic at best most of the time, even striped Ismenians had no consistency in their patterns typically unless it was a strong family trait. She wondered if Coeus had matching markings, the white Ismenian clearly came from a strong lineage. Not to mention their size for their age, boasting a modest seven feet at 22, they could very well gain another foot in a year. As to be expected of a founding tribe like Chronos, she looked away as Pan moved forward, seemingly tired of is master’s musings.

  
Trajan watched as the elf left, momentarily pausing their efforts to wash their fur. It had been a while since they had the opportunity to properly bathe, but they had to make do. They were grateful that the red clay was coming out of their fur, and the color was returning to its pristine white.

  
They looked over to the carcass, the Ismenian was still wrapping their head around how Vesonia, who was still recovering from last night, and her ornery mount managed to take down the animal that sent them running up the hill. They shuddered, despite her small size the elf was a dangerous opponent even when injured. With that thought Trajan finished cleaning up and decided to head back to camp to help pack up.

  
Once they located the riverbed they began to trek back to camp, stopping when an odd sound hit them. The steady sound of footfalls, hooves hitting the ground a rapid pace. The prairie was unforgiving in its cover, and Trajan thanked their luck that the riverbed partially hid them as they peaked over the edge towards the noise. Across the field, towards a small pocket of pines attempting to reclaim the damaged land, an Akapi. The animal had large saddle bags strapped to its side as the animal trotted around the trees, it appeared to be waiting for something. Trajan frowned, there was no reason for a traveler to be this far off the trail. They soon received their answer as he familiar brown Ismenian stepped through the trees, Klaus was not wearing the armor they had initially met them in. Instead trading the heavy armor for smooth leather to ease travel. The brown Ismenian paused, grasping at the reigns of the Akapi pulling the animal in close before scanning the field. They grazed over the riverbed, hidden by a thick layer of grass at its banks, missing Trajan’s piercing gaze, a small blessing thought the white dragon.

  
They silently watched as Klaus took a deep breath, surveying the area they were hiding in once again. A strong breeze kicked up through the field, thankfully downwind from Trajan, carrying the scent of the Akapi to them. It appeared Klaus had opted to leave their Deserian soldiers behind, or they were pursuing a different lead. Either way Trajan frowned, a deep scowl coming over their face. They could only pray Vesonia was safe, and she most likely was with Pans ability to get into the trees and climb.

  
Trajan had a sinking suspicion Klaus was tracking them, the soldier had not believed them when they brought the maeonia to them, and it was clear here. The only reason for them to be here was to hunt down the seals. It seems Nero was no longer remaining idle since the resurgence of the first seal. They wondered how long Klaus had been searching, and if they had participated in the initial chase of the ranger.

  
They snapped out of their musings when Klaus moved, walking towards the riverbank. Trajan panicked, they didn’t have any places to hide besides the tall grass and even that wasn’t high enough to cover them. The rich golden wheat scattered around was their best bet however as Klaus approached. Trajan pulled themselves up the bank, laying down flat against the ground in the wheat. They could no longer see the other Ismenian, just the faint scent growing stronger as they closed in. Over the tops of the plants they watched as Klaus leaned over to look in the riverbed. They heard a small growl before the footsteps faded and Klaus left out of sight. Trajan craned their neck up, watching as the soldier disappeared into the trees once again, this time pulling the unwilling Akapi through the pines as the animal strained against its reigns, the bit grating against its teeth.

  
They wondered why the animal was so nervous, and looked at the trees, the pines in that spot seemed older and had somehow escaped and serious damage and recovered. Still not as imposing as the Epiphanes they were certainly the sturdiest trees growing in the area, and upon one of the trees at the edge of the patch Pan clung to the side. Vesonia perched precariously on his back, apparently watching the Ismenian hunting them. The elf looked to the riverbed, spotting them and giving a short signal placing her finger over her mouth. It was apparent she had been caught off guard by the appearance of Klaus, judging from the perch of Pan hanging halfway off the tree, claws dug in deep as they tried not to slide down.

  
The two sat apart, separated by the field but united in the understanding that the stakes for reaching the West Citadel were now urgent. There was no luxury of time, with the appearance of Klaus it had become clear Nero was starting to make his move. They needed to get to camp before Klaus found it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keeping up with the monthly updates! There have been some character designs released since the last chapter, check it out on my Tumblr and Twitter at @FormallyCharles  
> If you are interested in beta reading please let me know.  
> ll Chapter being edited in rounds to ensure they are written correctly. This is my first time posting a major story so any tips would be greatly appreciated!  
> Please feel free to join the discord to get access to new content and artwork: https://discord.gg/rXj43Ap


	5. Chapter Five: Race

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vesonia and Trajan attempt to escape Klaus. Meanwhile we learn more about Vesonias life in Canis.

Chapter Five: Race

  
The tree groaned as the breeze picked up through the field, Vesonias heart pounded in her chest and she stared at the ground as her pulse thudding in her ears. Klaus stood directly beneath the tree Pan sought refuge in, claws dug in precariously into the wood. The Ismenian caught them off guard, the Maeonia had noticed the Akapi and immediately pulled them into the tree, something the ranger was immensely grateful for. The panicked motion from the beast surprised her, as she struggled with the reigns, concerned with the lack of noise from the predator until she heard a soft foot fall. It sounded eerily familiar, but with more weight to it she had glanced down and froze. Seeing Klaus appear through the trees shocked her, the speckled Ismenian slowly approached scanning the area. It was clear they were searching for them as the dragon stopped and took a deep breath and looking at the ground searching for tracks.

  
The small patches of pines was silent, no animals made a sound. Not even the Ismenian below them was noticeable beside the occasional sound of foot falls from their pack animal. The Akapi in question shifted restlessly, nostrils flaring as it smelled Pan. Vesonia silently cursed, the black maeonia more than likely still reeked of blood and it was unsettling the animal as she watched the panicked animal break free from Klaus’s stone grip and run into the field.

  
She heard Klaus below let out a few expletives, including some in draconic that she didn’t understand, coming out as short guttural growls and purrs.

  
The Ismenian moved into the field, and she looked across to the riverbed she came up from and spotted Trajan walking up the bed. She watched with a bated breath as Klaus closed in on her companion hiding in the grass, before watching as the speckled Ismenian came back into the trees disappearing. The tension released from her shoulders as Klaus retreated, and once she felt she was safe she looked back to the hidden dragon laying in the field. Trajan looked awkward, the large Ismenian flattened against the ground in the grass, horns flattened against their neck, they had craned their snout upwards. In that moment she was thankful they had a lighter coat color that blended seamlessly into the grass.

  
She made a motion at Trajan to remain quiet, as Pan slowly began to scale down the tree claws softly digging into the wood to reduce noise. The maeonia seemed tentative in its motions, the animal was far smarter than she would have thought to give it credit for Just as Pan managed to safely land on the ground without making too much noise she saw the white Ismenian pulling themselves out of the riverbed and run up. The dragon moved silently, the only noise coming from endlessly shifting grass in the wind.

  
She motioned to the Maeonia and Trajan reluctantly pulled themselves onto the animal, surprisingly with little fuss from the black beast the trio took off in a dead run for the camp. Dust and grass kicked up with very powerful footfall of the beast. Even Pan seemed to understand the situation in the animals hastened pace and silence. Whether it was from the tension in the air or the apprehension he sensed in Vesonia, she wasn’t sure, but she was counting her blessings that the animal was listening to her instructions.

  
Nyx remained silent, the seal still safely tucked away in her coat pocket. The connection was not as strong when she wasn’t wearing it, and she had a sinking feeling the goddess would remain silent until Vesonia was able to wear the pendant again. A small pulse came from the pendant in her pocket at the thought, and her hand came to rest upon it in response. It seemed almost as a confirmation from the celestial being, and the elves fingers dug in around the mass that was the first seal feeling the opaque plate through the thick fabric of her grey coat.

  
“Do you think Klaus was tracking us?” Vesonia asked loudly, the wind drowning out her voice.

  
“Without a doubt.”

  
The short response told her enough, as she glanced back the dragon who didn’t elaborate further but instead was staring hard ahead of them, claws holding the saddle grip tightly. The line of tension Trajan normally carried was more prominent now, the feathering on their horns raised making them appear larger than they already were. She turned back, hands wringing the reins as she attempted to settle her nerves. Pans rapid pace thankfully carried them quickly back to camp, the predator appeared to be more energetic after the fight with the Urustorn.

  
The two fell into silence as the mount slowed to a trot as it entered the small trees hiding their camp. Thankfully there was no sign of Klaus, and without a second thought Vesonia slid off her mount quickly running up to the now dead fire and kicking the stones away to hide the makeshift fire pit her companion had built but was shoed away by Trajan and decided to pack the remaining supplies. Thankfully Pans saddle bags were mostly packed beyond a few small things, and everything was quickly packed up on the shifting animal.

  
She turned to Trajan as she tightening the strap holding her blanket down.

  
“How did he find us?” The dragon turned to her, they had been moving the stones farther apart, so it looked

more organic than their erratic half circle Vesonia had left.  
“This is just an idea, but they probably realized where we are heading and most likely knows who we are.”

  
“How did they find out though? No one has a concrete description of my face and you’re just a random Ismenian passing through,” Trajan stopped at that comment, they sighed in a soft thrum as their claws came up to worry the edge of their braided whisker. She stared hard at them for a moment, and crossed her arms leaning against the saddle.

  
“Well?”

  
“My whiskers most likely gave us away, it’s well known that Pantheon members traditionally only present with golden ones and that coupled with my Chronos marking they seem smart enough to connect them together,” Vesonia looked at the vibrant thin feathers covering the sensitive whisker tip. They were a brilliant shade of bronze gold, it was hard not to notice.

  
“So, they have a suspicion, not an actual confirmation otherwise they would have gone straight to Nero to report it.”

  
Trajan nodded, and she sighed. They had been careless wandering into that town, and even more so to allow so much exposure to someone who now seemed to be actively hunting them. She had never thought about the system Ismenians used, determining ranking and status through feathering. Throughout the past few weeks she had forgotten about the rank Trajan carried around, and how most of the town was only polite to her due to her companions assumed prestige.

  
“Dye them?”

  
“Yes?”

  
Trajan looked constipated as their eyes narrowed and their face scrunched up, their muzzle wrinkling at the thought. Sharp fangs poked out at the motion.

  
“You do know how taboo that is right? You were raised with dragon folk,” they crossed their arms as they slowly approached the Maeonia. Vesonia nodded at them as the dragon pulled themselves behind her, she watched as they settled in before glancing at her compass as directing the beast West. Pan snarled for a moment shifting sideways before moving into a run after a harsh jab.

  
“Yeah but if it is between being hunted down by a captain of Nero’s army, and voiding suspicion further down the line when we have to wander into a town for supplies,” she trailed off when she saw a white tail sweeping irately behind her. She glanced back at the dragon and shrugged.

  
“They already know mine are gold, if I show up with suddenly black ones that would seem rather suspicious.”

  
“Or it would be taken a declaration to Nero, remember the rumors about his feathering greying?” Trajan’s tail stopped, and the dragon look down claws flexing into the thick leather of the saddle.  
Pan continued to run ignoring the searing line of tension between his two riders, Vesonia gently ran a hand through its mane in thanks the animal grumbling slightly before continuing to run.

  
“Declare I’m a defect?” the word was spoken with such disgust it surprised Vesonia. She hadn’t seen the dragon show any emotions other than apathetic commentary and half-hearted humor, the dragon never seeming particularly ill tempered.

  
Seeing the line of disgust of their face caught her off guard, the sharp lines of their eye markings highlighting the snarl, there was a strong taboo for greying feathering even through age they always remained one solid color while their fur itself can and does grey. A defect, as Trajan put it, was an individual who had rare coloring such as gold and lost the coloring to grey pigments early in life. Something that had happened to Nero, and what was markedly believed to be a significant factor in the animosity the dictator held against the Pantheon. Nothing on Ionerth was fair and Ismenians were unforgiving for those they deemed inferior, seal holder or not.

  
Trajan didn’t say anything further beyond that, and the ranger knew better than to push the subject.

  
One too many fights with the young dragons in Canis had taught her to leave an irate dragon well enough alone thinking back to aching joints and bruised limbs. She sighed and focused on where the Maeonia was carrying them watching the open expanse of prairie spread out before her. The trees providing shelter were long gone, only small specks in the distance and the only thing left was long spanning fields of grass and dirt. In the distance she saw the looming mountain range, they were heading to Phusis pass. Aptly named she snorted, it was rumored the pass itself was created in a fit from the goddess but Vesonia had a feeling Ourea had a role to play, despite the gods long absence for 100 years with the seal lost to a dispute and hidden away by a concerned Pantheon, with her minimal understanding of Pantheon history.

  
“We should avoid the pass and travel around the mountains,” Trajan mentioned behind her, she glanced back at them confused.

  
“That will put us back quite a bit, those mountains are huge we are still a long way out and they are already starting loom over us,” she rebuked her good eye glaring at the dragon.  
“If Klaus is actually tracking us there is a very good chance there is a check point in the pass, like the one on the Dragons Gate Bridge.”

  
She frowned, looking back to the mountains. They had a point, this whole mess started because she had risked Dragons Gate Pass to get into Adica in the first place. They were better equipped than most to handle the dangerous terrain, having a mount that specializes in climbing, but the weather was her concern. She knew Ismenians were hardy but non-northern Ismenians had trouble with colder weather when coupled with heavy snow. The northern dragons she grew up with had thick coats, much thicker than what Trajan was sporting and the dragon was most likely going to need a cloak to make it safely through the dangerous mountains.

  
Trajan watched the elf frown back at them, idly wondering what was crossing their minds. They were snapped out of the thought when Pan lurched coming to a slow trot and shifted sideways. The ranger let out a small growl.

  
“Pan not now we need to move,” Vesonia dug her heels into the side of the Maeonia and was met with the beast coming to a complete stop and looking back at its two riders. The animal stared hard at her before snorting and began to trot. The ranger leaned back sighing, grateful the animal was listening.

  
There was a very real danger Klaus could catch up to them if they didn’t keep up the fast pace the Maeonia had set once they fled the campsite. Vesonia chewed her lip and she turned towards the looming mountains, shifting the reigns to get Pan to veer in their general direction. The predator let out a low growl before yielding and shifting to the north.

 

“We need to get you a cloak then.”

  
“Why?”

  
“You don’t have a decent top coat Trajan, the snow will wipe you off your ass,” she turned back and met their green eyes. The dragon was confused, they were more equipped to handle cold weather than bald elves. Vesonia sighed, rubbing the heel of her palm into her bad eye, a dull ache beginning to resonate behind it.

  
“Look northern Ismenians have much thicker coats than what you are sporting currently, and unless you can suddenly grow a thicker top coat you’re fucked,” she plucked at the fur on their arm to emphasize her point. The fur was soft and short, but dense and clung to the form of the white Ismenians muscles. Trajan grunted watching the motion.

  
“Your point?”

  
“You see my coat, right? It’s made from Maeonia fur, and have you looked at how much fur this damn beast has?” She squeezed her legs around the animal to punctuate the point, Pan looking back for a moment with a glare.

  
“My coat is not like that,” they replied still confused.

  
“Exactly! Pan and I are prepared, I grew up in far North for fucks sake you haven’t!”

  
The dragon opened their mouth, and clanked it shut teeth lightly scrapping.

  
“Oh,” Trajan was floundering like a fish out of water, finally understanding. “You think I won’t be able to handle the weather,” The elf nodded. “My coat isn’t thick enough- another nod- so I need a cloak to protect myself,” they finished. A cloak, while it wasn’t common Ismenians can and do wear large thick cloaks, with backs of the hoods removed for give space for their horns. The bristled at the thought, the feeling of course fabric rubbing against their whiskers and horns was not ideal.

  
“It’s either that or have you freeze to death.”

 

“Well how are we going to get a cloak? There aren’t any towns nearby.”

  
“We have a week or more tops before we will come even close to reaching the Phares range, I think we will have time to figure it out,” Vesonia responded, looking towards the distant looming mountains. Traveling across an open expanse of plains was a big risk, and now with the additional factor of Klaus a sinking feeling fell over the elf. It would have been fine had she been able to skin the Urustorn she had hunted, but Klaus’s sudden appearance threw them for a loop.

  
The conversation died down at that point, both of them focused on keeping Pan from coming to a complete halt. The expedited speed of the mount was needed more than ever and for once the elf found herself wishing Nyx was there to give advice. The goddess remained silent at the request however much to the dismay of Vesonia.

  
The rest of the day passed without notice, after another hour or so Pan huffed and came to a stop. Vesonia allowed it, the animal looked tired its chest heaving heavily. Her companion had wasted no time in sliding off the exhausted animal, stretching their stiff tail and back.

  
Vesonia watched the motion for a moment before sliding off the left side of the Maeonia, giving the animal a small pat. She unceremoniously flopped into the grass, they couldn’t stop for long, but the elf took the moment of reprieve. The wind picked up in a strong grass, rusting the grass the elf was laying in. She took a deep breath, before sitting up feeling the wind lick at her back.

  
Trajan walked up, seemingly done stretching before glancing down.

 

“How much training have you had with Nyx?”

  
The ranger looked up confused.

  
“Not much,” her hand came up to rub at the space the seal normally rested, the bandages wound around her neck in its stead. She pulled the seal out of her pocket and stared at it, the obsidian flickering as Nyx shifted. Trajan leaned over looking down at the seal. Glowing eyes shimmered into view staring at them before vanishing.

  
“Once your neck is healed, we are going to start training to strengthen your bond with Nyx,” Vesonia tried to protest, moving to stand but was stopped by a raised hand. “You can’t run into this fight without Nyx, not with Erebus.”

  
The elf snapped her mouth shut audibly, her teeth clanking together barely missing her tongue. Vesonia felt bile in the back of her throat, at the thought of extended exposure to Nyx and the mention of the god that took her vision. She stared up at Trajan, her eye twitching for a moment before she nodded. She wearily watched the clawed hand as Trajan offered her a hand up. She hesitantly accepted the help and was pulled to her feet.

  
“For now, though, since you are still healing why not spar?”

  
“Spar? Right now?”

  
“Why not, we have made good ground today and I doubt Pan is moving anywhere anytime soon,” The dragon looked over to the lounging beast to make a point. Pan was fast asleep on his side; the animal didn’t stir with the comment from the Ismenian. Vesonia watched the Maeonia for a moment before nodding.

  
“Alright no weapons,” she took a step back, unbuckling the strap holding her sword and setting it down in the grass. She looked to Trajan, watching as they removed their daggers and turned to her dropping into a low stance.

  
She eyed the motion wearily, before making a show of cracking her knuckles and pulling them into tight fists. The white dragon huffed as the motion, before taking a slow measured step to her left. Their tail moved in a long ark as their center of gravity shifted, Vesonia matched them step for step. The pair made a full circle before Vesonia moved. She lunged out with a strong push from her legs, fist coming in with an attempt to hit their jaw. Trajan danced backwards on their heels, the elf let out a frustrated huff at the movement before attempting to land another hit, her left fist came faster than the dragon was expecting. The white Ismenian let out a gasp as her fist contacted their side, they let out a low growl before kicking out and catching the elves side in a harsh kick.

  
Vesonia cringed when their foot made contact and felt herself move with the momentum of the hit skidding to the side as she lost her footing in the soft grass. The elf caught her footing just in time to prevent herself from getting a face full of grass and dirt, she turned to the dragon who was now silently pacing around her looking for an opening. Their arms were now raised in a defensive position, forearms braced close to their face. Vesonia let out a small laugh before moving back in, determined to wait for Trajan to make the next move.

  
She didn’t have to wait long as the dragon lunged forward, arm coming around in a long sweep. She ducked down in time to avoid getting punched in the jaw, with just the rush of air as a warning her arm coming to block the second blow going for her blind side. She glared at the white Ismenian from her good eye, before shoving back hard with the arm braced against the Ismenians fist. The dragon stumbled back for a moment and the elf took advantage to land a harsh punch to the underside of the dragon’s jaw. She heard the noise of their fangs clacking and winced. Vesonia heard a loud snarl from Trajan before they lunged once again, this time grabbing the arm of the elf surprising her. She was suddenly hauled over their head, she registered seeing the blue-sky sprawling before her head hit the ground her teeth cutting through her lip and the taste of iron and copper filler her mouth. She sat up spitting blood into the grass.

  
Vesonia let out a long cuss as she righted herself before the dragon had a chance to turn around. Without thinking she pulled her fist back and punched Trajan in the snout when they whipped around to face her. They stumbled back, hand coming up to their nose pulling it away to watch the blood dribble down their hand. They clumsily smeared the blood into their snout before fully turning to the elf, who watched the motion.

  
They stood silently for a moment before Vesonia moved, leg hooking around the back of the dragons and yanked hard against their hock. Trajan let out a surprised yell at the motion, the sharp sting from the attack brought them to their knees. The elf wasted no time in bringing her knee up to their back and pushed her whole weight into them, forcing the large dragon into the ground with the momentum. Her hand grabbed at their wrist, wrenching their right arm back into a painful hold.

  
Trajan flailed for a moment, kicking at against the surprisingly strong elf restraining them. They huffed a moment but pushing up with their unrestrained arm, the elf rocked backwards, grip loosening in fear of harming them, losing her balance she let go into time before they could reach back and grab her. She danced backwards, watching as the Ismenian ripped up grass with their claws and they pulled themselves to their feet. Green eyes glared holes into her, and before she knew it, she was blocking a flurry of rapid-fire punches. Her arms pulled up defensively and she blocked each punch, she managed to land a few hits but not enough to force the dragon back. She stumbled for a moment after a particularly harsh one jarred her arms, causing her shoulders to ache and Trajan took advantage of the hesitance in her next punch, claws digging into her arm pulling the elf down, knee placed firmly between the space of her shoulder blades. Vesonia cussed for a moment, pushing back against the knee unable to dislodge the large dragon. She stilled after a moment of struggling, her chest heaving from exertion.

  
The knee lifted off her shoulders and pulled herself up, hands resting on her knees.

  
“I didn’t realize you knew how to fight that well,” She glared at the dragon through her bangs.

  
“My grandma did not think it was smart to leave me defenseless, besides growing up with whelps meant I got into a lot of fights.”

  
“Would explain why you decided to go for my hock to get me down,” Trajan chuckled, their claws idly rubbing the sore limb. The elf watched the moment before letting out a quiet laugh, wiping at the blood that had collected at the edge of lip from the cut. She stared at the blood on her hand before wiping it off in the grass.

  
“That was kinda fun,” she quietly admitted. It had been a while since she had an opportunity to spare with someone in a fight that wasn’t her trying not to die.

  
“You’re a good fighter,” Trajan commented, almost absent mindedly. She glanced at the dragon for a moment frowning.

  
“You mean for an elf?”

  
“What? No- I meant,” Trajan sputtered for a moment but stopping when they saw the elves shoulders shaking, “You’re an asshole you know that?” Trajan sounded indignant, that the elf was actually teasing them.

  
Vesonia didn’t respond, her shoulders still shaking with poorly hidden laughter. After a few moments she stilled and looked at Pan a frown settling back onto her face.

  
“We shouldn’t stay here for too much longer.”

  
Trajan watched the elf for a moment, before nodding. They wiped at their still bleeding nose, smearing their white fur a pale shade of red. They watched Vesonias eyes snap to their and then their nose.

  
“Sorry.”

  
“It’s fine, you busted your lip open.”

  
She nodded before standing up and walked over to the sleeping Maeonia. Pan didn’t stir when she stopped in front of his face. Vesonia stared at them for a minute before she flicked the beast’s nose. Trajan opened their mouth to say something but remained silent as the Maeonia stirred. Her hands smoothed over their muzzle as the animal woke, gold eyes boring into her own. The Maeonia stared for a moment before yawning, rows of sharp teeth on display for the elf. She took a step back and Pan finally stood up, stretching for a moment before allowing the elf to haul herself into the saddle.  
Trajan handed her the discarded long sword, that she strapped to her back before the dragon hauled themselves into the back seat in the saddle. The trio finally moved on from the soft grass.  
They traveled into the evening, forced to stop by the settling chill of the prairie night.

  
Vesonia stared at the map laid out before her, going over the route the two had agreed upon. They would move farther north, and head west into the mountain range, completely skipping the pass. The route would add a few weeks at best, but it also was the most direct and unoccupied route to their current goal, the West Citadel. A fortress that marks the territory of the Chronos clan, and the continent they used to rule over before the coup.

  
“What do you think?” she glanced up at Trajan for a moment, then back to the map as the dragon settled next to her too look at the route.

  
“I still think skipping the pass is the best plan and it might be enough to shake Klaus off our backs,” she responded thoughtfully, finger tracing the route she wanted to take. “There is a smaller lesser known pass to the north, it’s dangerous but it shouldn’t be guarded and at worst it can give us space to climb into a off road route with Pan.”

  
Trajan hummed in response, “I’ve only ever been through the pass a handful of times of with Coeus,” they admitted, “we traveled a lot when I was younger,” they supplied when Vesonia glanced at them curiously. The elf nodded, Trajan’s eyes fell to their neck and the bandages hiding the healing cut thinking back to their earlier discussion. “Once you’re healed, we need to start training with Nyx.”  
The elf’s shoulders tensed, a deep scowl settling over her face.

  
“I know,” was the tight-lipped response, her hand coming to rest on the seal resting in her pocket.

  
“I know Hemera will help and I’ve been training with her for at least ten years,” Trajan pulled off their glove showing the bracelet once again. Vesonia eyed it wearily, the ruby glinting unnaturally in the dark of the night.

  
“I only work with Nyx when I need to compensate for the lack of site in my right eye,” Vesonia supplied quietly, and the seal on the dragon’s arm flickered for a moment before settling. The pair watched it waiting for something to happen, but Hemera remained silent.

  
“If I can ask, what is your issue with being a seal holder?”

 

Vesonia sighed rubbing her palm into her forehead Trajan took it as a prompting to continue.

  
“It’s supposed to be a great honor, a gift even, even if Nyx is notorious for choosing blood related seal holders, people can only dream of getting an opportunity like this,” The dragons voice was soft, but their tone firm as the stared down the elf. Vesonia was now openly glaring at them and abruptly stood up turning away arms tightly cross, her foot tapping in irritation. Trajan, for a moment, became concerned they overstepped their bounds.

  
“A gift? When does a gift cause this,” Vesonia snapped harshly veering around back towards the Ismenian, pointing towards her eye, “When does a gift result in an entire clan almost being destroyed over a 15 year old backwoods elf that just happened to be unknowing heir of Astraeus Canisius, and I didn’t even know who my parents were until my grandmother shoved Nyx into my hands when I got my clan markings and suddenly everything went to hell when she woke up. It was fine, the clan was fine as it was before Nyx got involved.” Vesonia paused for a moment catching her breath, realizing she had been yelling. Her companion leaning away from her, eyes wide as the observed the angry ranger.

  
Pan walked over at the commotion, looking between the two before laying down behind Vesonia. The elf sighed falling into a seated position next to the large Maeonia refusing to meet her companions gaze. Trajan remained silent, eyes tracking the movement. The seal on their arm was flickering more now, Hemera’s interest in the conversation was beginning to show.

  
“Look I don’t know how you grew up, or what stories you were told but I grew up without the Pantheon, the council, none of that mattered in Canis. I don’t have any deep-seated loyalties to anyone but myself, the clan leader, and-” the elf paused unsure, “and my grandmother that it’s Trajan. We were fine, the village was safely tucked away no one bothered us. We were left well enough alone and I grew up that way. It was safe. There was no reason to change that,” Vesonia explained more quietly, she looked back to Trajan.

  
The dragon sat back, Trajan had not anticipated such a strong reaction.

  
“I’m, I’m sorry that was an unfair assumption on my part,” Trajan offered, “I just assumed that Pantheon history was something that was taught universally I never considered other clans would distance themselves from it to protect themselves.”

  
Vesonia sighed, “I don’t think Canis distanced ourselves, if we truly had my grandmother would not have given me the seal, but then again I don’t think anyone understood it fully, maybe grandmother did. She was cautious and never openly shared the history to why she was suddenly stuck with a crying infant during the middle of a civil war, the clan just accepted it.”

  
“She must have a high ranking,” the comment from the Ismenian earned them a snort from the short elf.

  
“You could say that, she was on the clan council, ya know being the mother of a seal holder and also my grandmother.”

  
“I thought Canis was predominantly Ismenian?”

  
“Oh we are, but it was originally founded the Nyx’s first seal holder who was an elf.”

  
“Then how?”

  
“It’s a legend as this point. I am not sure what the truth is, but my grandmother told me once that after the great war the Canisius, the first seal holder of Nyx, traveled into Aprici with Nyx to deal with a raging Titan. When they arrived it was a mess, the whole area was engulfed in thick fog and despite Nyx’s sight and powers they struggled to subdue the Titan. The battle lasted four days and on the last day they finally struck the final blow that killed it. However, during the fight Canisius was gravely injured and close to death. An Ismenian passing by the area was drawn in from the sounds of the battle. When they found Canisius they immediately began to treat his wounds without a second thought, despite him being unconscious and feverish for the first week the Ismenian cared for him until he was healed. When he woke, he was unable to offer the Ismenian anything in return, asides from the land he stood on. The Ismenian agreed to settle on the land given by Canisius. Well that’s the story the elders like to tell at least, there is a thick fog surrounding Canis that I don’t think I have ever seen really dissipate, but that is also partially the weather I think.”

  
Trajan scratched their horn, mulling over the tale.

  
“I suppose that would make sense, but if the Ismenian was already traveling why would they suddenly settle down?”

  
“I don’t know, the story just tells of the wandered who found him, sometimes it says that they grew fond of the land, the area is rich in resources. It may have just been easier to stay,” Vesonia shrugged. “But it’s why Canis is mostly based in Ismenians, in fact the only elves living in the town were my grandmother, a blacksmith and myself,” The elf admitted quietly. “I think a lot of elves are intimidated by Ismenians, I don’t understand it but I am a bit biased having been raised by them,” a frown came across the rangers face at the thought.

  
“I would hope you’re not afraid, that would make things a bit awkward,” Trajan chuckled, “To be honest I haven’t had much exposure to elves, since I was on the road so much, we only ever came into contact with other dragonkin, we didn’t visit cities,” they paused, “The few I have met were warriors, yourself included and they feared nothing.”

 

She appraised Trajan for a moment, before nodding to mostly herself.

  
“To wander without a clan requires that I think,” she responded, “I don’t know how much you know about elven culture, but wanderers or rangers like myself are not… trusted. Even if I wanted to stay in a town or city, I wouldn’t be welcome. The world is dangerous and uncertain, and while within city walls or under the careful guard of the Panathean army in towns, the wilds are not safe, and elves are not strong, nor do we have natural weapons or armor. If an elf or halfing is traveling like that, it’s generally accepted that it’s not voluntary and stigmatized. My grandmother warned me before I left, to avoid towns with elves,” Vesonia laughed humorlessly, “It was true, elves only stick to big cities and the few towns I did visit I was chased out almost immediately.”

  
“Wait really,” Trajan interrupted her, surprise lacing their tone.

  
“Yup, I needed supplies and I stopped in some backwater village in East Aprici, I don’t even remember its name. But I do remember walking up to the gate, the guard took one look at me and made sure I heard the bar being thrown down locking the gate.”

  
“Wow.”

  
“It wasn’t that big of a problem, mostly irritating, it took an hour, but they let me in long enough to buy some supplies and leave. I don’t think I visited another elven town after that, even small halfling towns were more welcoming.”

  
Trajan sat back letting out a low whistle, surprised to hear the story.

  
“That’s just surprising is all, I know elves tend to be more social,” Vesonia shrugged at the comment.

  
“I think things have been too uncertain for people to really trust each other,” she replied, “But it doesn’t surprise me that the elves you have met were like that, they are more than likely considered rangers too.”

  
“When you say ranger, you mean someone who lives in the wilds?”

  
“I suppose, to say it’s a general term for elves who live outside society would be more accurate. Sometimes its voluntary, other times is the result of exile or punishment which is where the mistrust comes from, I guess. We still work, take odd jobs liking hunting animals, taking on bounties occasionally, playing guard with caravans moving through dangerous areas,” Vesonia hugged her knees to her chest and leaned against Pan. The animal was sleeping soundly, a gently snore rattling her frame.

  
Trajan hummed as they listened, nodding. Finally caving in to the exhaustion from the excitement of the past few days, the dragon leaned back against the saddle, their horns and neck resting comfortable in the curve. Vesonia glanced at them before looking back at the small fire they had going, just watching it, ignoring the flickering of the seal in her pocket and the exposed seal on Trajan’s wrist, eyes staring.

  
When morning finally came the pair set off quickly, Pan seeming rested enough to carry they two of them without complaint. Vesonias neck was healing steadily and while she dreaded it, Trajan seemed enthusiastic as it meant they could start training soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for posting at the end of the month. This is my last semester of college and I have been very busy. Monthly updates will continue. Thank you for reading!  
> Still looking for beta readers!  
> All Chapter being edited in rounds to ensure they are written correctly. This is my first time posting a major story so any tips would be greatly appreciated!  
> Please feel free to join the discord to get access to new content and artwork: https://discord.gg/rXj43Ap

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, and welcome to the start of Pantheons Throne. Thank you for taking the time to read this, it is an original work that has been in the making for a very long time so I greatly appreciate it. I have finally decided on a format to release it with, and hopefully I can get it released on a monthly schedule with one to two chapters at a time.  
> Please Feel free to join the discord to gain access to new content and artwork: https://discord.gg/rXj43Ap


End file.
